[silversteed]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Sometime back, I saw a bus with solar panel fixed on top. What is that?

The solar panel is news to me! I wonder what use does a solar panel serve in a diesel powered bus that already has a battery and alternator. If it were the BYD electric bus, the panel *might* slightly improve the range, considering the poor efficiency figures of solar panels available today.

There were news reports of the BMTC trying to introduce solar powered buses, wonder what happened to that idea!

[D4D]

Nice to see such good initiatives from BMTC. BMTC has so many old busses and ill-maintained which consistently emit 'black' smoke from their exhaust(volvos included.)
I think they have to improve average quality of emissions from all busses, not just putting a few electric busses on a single route and claiming that they are "The most eco-friendly" in India.

The recent hike in fares is shocking. Makes Carpooling look more VFM.

BMTC is still to be credited for firsts in India- Volvo city busses and now, an electric bus.

[AstonMartin]

BMTC staff are the rudest government employees I have seen. To non-kannadigas they will say "Speak in Kannada" when they are losing the argument. BMTC is the costliest of the lot too. I would like to bring few points to your attention and ask you whether BMTC is providing a service?

1. They run very less number of ordinary buses and run mostly Volvo buses on routes that have IT employees travelling. I have seen labourers waiting for hours for an ordinary bus to appear.
2. In the peak hours, BMTC buses are provided to service IT companies when common man is waiting on the road.
3. I have heard drivers saying that Volvo buses are eating into the profitability of the corporation. They break down very often (There was never a day when I didn't see a Volvo stranded on ORR). These buses with huge initial investment and high maintenance are for whom?
4. The attitude and behavior of BMTC employees are pathetic to say the least. They stop on the middle of the road. They knowingly brush against private cars. They have least regard for the police. They do not return change. And out of the state travellers are treated as second class citizens (This is not only in BMTC).

[SR71-Blackbird]

Originally Posted by nileshch

Saw the BMTC zero emission bus running on the 335E route at Marathahalli yesterday

This bus seems to be a regular on this route now!
I saw it 3-4 times on this route over the last week.
I even once saw it parked under the richmond road flyover due to some problem (ran out of charge probably )!

One round trip on this route is around 60 kms and it can easily take more than 4 hours during peak hours and I am not sure if they can run more than a 2-3 trips before charging it again for 6-7 hours!

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by AstonMartin

To non-kannadigas they will say "Speak in Kannada" when they are losing the argument.

It is a simple communication & transaction. Tell the stop, pay the cash (or cash close to the ticket amount) & collect the ticket. Why should there be an argument?

Originally Posted by coolclouds

While agreeing to your points, many of the staff are harassed by their supervisors. Their duty hours are too long and many of them are not even confirmed.

But that doesn't give anybody an excuse for being rude.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by AstonMartin

BMTC staff are the rudest government employees I have seen.

While agreeing to your points, many of the staff are harassed by their supervisors. Their duty hours are too long and many of them are not even confirmed.

[Roomy]

Originally Posted by msdivy

It is a simple communication & transaction. Tell the stop, pay the cash (or cash close to the ticket amount) & collect the ticket. Why they should be an argument?

Easier said than done. There are loads of scenarios where arguments break out. Not returning the change and simply walking away after giving the ticket is the most common issue; any attempts at questioning will result in them shouting/abusing/ignoring the commuter. And this is being done when there is ample change with the conductor, I speak from my experiences(Please note the plural used here.) There is no getting away from the fact that there are many rude employees in BMTC.
Arguments happen even with non verbal situations, I have personally seen BMTC Volvo drivers harass car drivers, especially if they are female choosing to intimidate them, drive rashly, over take and then drive slowly, swipe them, etc. The list is just endless.

Originally Posted by coolclouds

While agreeing to your points, many of the staff are harassed by their supervisors. Their duty hours are too long and many of them are not even confirmed.

I wouldn't want to get into why they do this. Unless you are at the very top of the food chain you are bound to get crap from your manager, there is no escape. Moreover this does not give them a right to harass commuters.

[sdp1975]

BMTC has increased bus passes by a whopping 15% at one shot right after the recent elections ! Volvo passes that used to cost Rs 2000/- earlier now cost 2300/-. I've stopped travelling in AC buses. Their AC fleet was already loss-making , and that will only worsen now.

While BMTC thinks that they will improve their financial health by this hike, that isn't going to happen. The usual laws of demand and supply will ensure that people move down to cheaper passes and save money, use alternate modes of transport like 2 wheelers and so on.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...cle5983251.ece

[sdp1975]

Looking at the fare structure of passes on http://www.mybmtc.com/daily_pass , a "Gold Day Pass" costs 140/- , and this entitles you to travel in AC buses - except the ones going to the Airport.

Whereas the "MBT day pass" costs less @ 110/- and allows you to do the same as a "Gold Day Pass" + travel in Metro.

Why would anyone buy a "Gold Pass" - anything I'm missing here ?

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Why would anyone buy a "Gold Pass" - anything I'm missing here ?

Gold pass is required for boarding AC buses (Volvos). Could be a typo for Rs 110 "MBT day pass" in the site.

[SR71-Blackbird]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Looking at the fare structure of passes on http://www.mybmtc.com/daily_pass , a "Gold Day Pass" costs 140/- , and this entitles you to travel in AC buses - except the ones going to the Airport.

Whereas the "MBT day pass" costs less @ 110/- and allows you to do the same as a "Gold Day Pass" + travel in Metro.

Why would anyone buy a "Gold Pass" - anything I'm missing here ?

I think there is some error there as it mentions the "MBT day pass" twice (both D and E).
I use the gold day pass very often and I have seen the volvo bus conductors carry only the monthly passes and the "gold day pass". So, I think it might not be valid on volvo busses.

[tharian]

BMTC not to buy AC buses due to the losses made in the last 2 years.
TATA MarcoPolo AC buses a disaster for BMTC.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...buy-volvo.html

[audioholic]

If the BMTC dealed with the running and maintenance of these buses in the right way, they would have at least broke even, if not making profits. The buses are driven as aggressively as possible, with the driver knowing only how to floor either of the pedals present under his foot. Bad roads? Like they even care. They run this algorithm in their brains( find(potholes||humps) -> accelerator++ ) and thrash the suspension. They try all kinds of Jugaad fixes and shoddy body work on the Volvo buses. These people dont even know how to fix a glass panel neatly on the newer buses with pasted glass compared to the old ones with a rubber beading. In the end, complain that the buses dont last long and maintenance is tough. They should get skilled workers who can handle such buses. And skilled drivers too. Perhaps then the mileage of the buses will at least increase by 50% and its components will last longer.

They should complain about bad roads to their cousin, the BBMP and stopping the purchase of AC buses isnt a solution. Moreover, when a government organisation is looking forward to providing premium services, they are doing it for the comfort of people and not to make profits. BMTC is showing the attitude of a private company. They should just look at sustainablity, and not profitablity. For a city like Bangalore with a varied population, they should invest in all kinds of buses, and spend a part of their budget on premium services too, while improving normal services.

The Marcopolo is on the other hand a disaster indeed. Pity that Tata couldnt fix issues proactively and fetch more orders. I remember this conversation posted by someone in TBHP itself between him and a Marcopolo driver:

I asked the driver how the bus was. He told me, "Look sir" and floored the accelarator pedal and told "Nothing happens"

At a lesser cost, it would have been a considerable alternative to the expensive Volvo, though it wont come near it.

[Shiv_1984]

The hike in BMTC buses are across their services lines, My company has contracted them for employee transportation and IIRC, I used to pay 800 INR from EC to Bellandur using ETL back in early 2013.

Now I dont use it anymore as I am aborad, but a corporate communique today says the monthly charges are now 2300 for those using BMTC via ETL and otherwise its 1900.

An increase of 1500 INR within 18 months is too much for budget vendors like BMTC who were supposed to be more competitive. I fail to understand why BMTC charges are so high when compared to other municipal transport services in other cities. What is their USP for the premium they are asking for ?

Even though I respect BMTC as first timers for many initiatives but this is an absolute rip off to say the least. I am ready to pay premium if they guarantee me
1. Ontime Buses.
2. Qualified and well spoken staff
3. Non polluting vehicles
4. Traffic obeying and non bullying drivers
5. Real time information of ETA to a stop and delays if any.

Can They ? Well, we all know.

[sdp1975]

The Volvo fleet has been a running loss for BMTC in recent years. With the repeated hikes , passenger volumes on the Volvo fleets have gone down , switching to the non AC buses.

The # daily passes sold for non-AC buses are around 1.3 lacs whereas only 5000 for the Volvo fleet.

I don't see a reason to pay more than double the fare for the AC Volvo buses, particularly in Bangalore weather - I'm quite comfortable in the regular buses.

I've heard folks say that travelling by 2 wheelers is cheaper than BMTC. If BMTC keeps hiking fares to keep it's books healthy, it will have an adverse effect on the already poor Bangalore traffic situation.