[girishglg]

Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation or popularly called BMTC is one of the biggest city transportation service in our country and probably the only one which is running in profits.

As a tribute to this large public service institution it is apt to have a dedicated thread to capture all the action around BMTC and updates in terms of services, fleet and other interesting stuff.

Firstly the one stop site that provides all the information about BMTC on routes, services and more is in its website - www.mybmtc.com

Courtesy mybmtc-



Some bus pics (from internet)-

[srinivasr79]

My experience with BMTC is not so great.

1. The conductors never issue tickets when you travel short distance and just say "kodi sir". They are OK with 2,3 or 5 rupees. This is something I have never seen in TNSTCs/MTC.

2. They dont return change at all. For example, if the ticket is 8 or 9 rupees, they'll never return the change unless you stress. This is again something I have never seen in TNSTC/MTC.

In my opinion, I'm surprised how they can run in profits by having a system like point 1 and also with the volvo buses going mainly vacant. Of course they charge a lot...That may be one point for their profitability.

The reason for BMTC/KSRTC to run so many volvos is because they want to support the volvo whose manufacturing base is in karnataka. even in delhi, most of the AC buses are AL/Tata as they are more practical. People can argue that BMTC/KSRTC is best, but in my opinion they run a business house while other STCs provide service.

Srini

[navrddy]

In My view, Compared to other STU in our country, BMTC is miles ahead and is on par with Some of European Countries in few of cases.

--> Buses are clean, modern and comfort (not just volvos').
Compared to other STU buses which are mostly outdated and ramshackle vehicles.
--> Some people mentioned that tickets for short rides are usually not given. I think it is not true in all the cases. Maybe it is one-of cases, but as a traveller u have to insist and get tickets for good of you (in case of random ticket checking).
--> Regarding Short-changes are usually ignored, Come-on BMTC clearly mentions everywhere that Exact change to conductor needs to be tendered. Most of travellers (especially IT kind of crowd never bother to give exact change).
--> Surely, nothing comes for free in this world. They are in business of providing good service at what cost ?...Somebody has to pay.Certainly travellers. In my view, there is nothing wrong in it.

I really liked how BMTC evolved with changing times, But road-infrastructure(like expansion of roads, maintenance etc) is not on par with BMTC.

[srinivasr79]

@navrddy

Can you pls explain which other STCs you are comparing? and are you comparing apples to apples?

For the past 3 years whenever I travelled in bangalore or even between other places to bangalore in KSRTC, I have got into the ticketing issues I mentioned. I would have travelled atleast 20 times and more than 10 times I got into the ticketing issues and so it is not a rare case definitely.

I have no problem in peole calling BMTC as the best service in India. it is their opinion. But unfortunately the reality is different.

coming to your points.

1. People have to provide exact change: i agree to this. But what happens in chennai (the city I live) is the for example the ticket is Rs.9 and I'm giving Rs.10 and if the conductor does nt have any change is he'll ask for one more rupee so that he can give Rs.2 change. else he'll say to collect it when we get down. None of that happens in bangalore. He'll just give Rs.9 ticket and moves away. The bahviour of BMTC/KSRTC conductors mostly is no different from the chennai auto rickshaw guys before the metering system has been implemented in chennai. Chennai autos are more clean and modern than bangalore autos FYI. So according to your point can we justlfy them asking for more charges?

2. The so called "gramandhira sarige" buses which ask for less charge is in the same state as any other village buses else where. BMTC even could nt answer properly for them writing only in kannada in their normal buses. Many state STUs write both in english and the regional language and bangalore is a cosmopolitan city. I'm not against kannada and not asking to ignore kannada also but explaining the real weaknesses of the "so-called" modern bus company.

Regards
Srini

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by srinivasr79

@navrddy

Can you pls explain which other STCs you are comparing? and are you comparing apples to apples?

For the past 3 years whenever I travelled in bangalore or even between other places to bangalore in KSRTC, I have got into the ticketing issues I mentioned. I would have travelled atleast 20 times and more than 10 times I got into the ticketing issues and so it is not a rare case definitely.

I have no problem in peole calling BMTC as the best service in India. it is their opinion. But unfortunately the reality is different.

coming to your points.

1. People have to provide exact change: i agree to this. But what happens in chennai (the city I live) is the for example the ticket is Rs.9 and I'm giving Rs.10 and if the conductor does nt have any change is he'll ask for one more rupee so that he can give Rs.2 change. else he'll say to collect it when we get down. None of that happens in bangalore. He'll just give Rs.9 ticket and moves away. The bahviour of BMTC/KSRTC conductors mostly is no different from the chennai auto rickshaw guys before the metering system has been implemented in chennai. Chennai autos are more clean and modern than bangalore autos FYI. So according to your point can we justlfy them asking for more charges?

2. The so called "gramandhira sarige" buses which ask for less charge is in the same state as any other village buses else where. BMTC even could nt answer properly for them writing only in kannada in their normal buses. Many state STUs write both in english and the regional language and bangalore is a cosmopolitan city. I'm not against kannada and not asking to ignore kannada also but explaining the real weaknesses of the "so-called" modern bus company.

Regards
Srini

-Well , I guess you had a bad experience with one or two conductors , even here they write the balance change amount on the back of your ticket and ask you to collect it later . Please do not put everyone in the same basket .

-Volvo bus has announcements in English and Kannada . Most buses that come fitted with LED sign boards have English and Kannada info boards.

-Even in Chennai , only buses with LED boards have English and Tamil info, rest all have only Tamil boards.

-Chennai autos are more modern ? How ? Do they come with air conditioners or airbags or ABS ? autos are autos everywhere . They are no different .

-Kindly do not compare bus conductors with auto drivers , in Bangalore bus conductors helpful and at least speak Hindi for those who do not understand Kannada. They are far more educated than the auto drivers you are comparing with.

-As far as I know BMTC buses have very less accident records compared to cities like Delhi. (I may be wrong here , not sure though) .

-Every company has its own business model . BMTC has certainly come a long way in providing bus connectivity to remote parts of the city and its no easy task. I agree that they are not the best , but lets at least encourage them in providing better service.

[DWind]

Originally Posted by girimajiananth

-
-Even in Chennai , only buses with LED boards have English and Tamil info, rest all have only Tamil boards.

Chennai buses always had boards which were bilingual, atleast the destinations. It is a different matter that they are at the bottom and is not visible with the hindering the view.

At one point in time BMTC used to have kannada numerals in its bus numbers. Not sure if it is followed but I found them to be pretty unhelpful!

[SoumenD]

I am not sure if they are the best in business or not but after staying in 4 major indian cities(Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad) I feel BMTC is somewhat better. I have always had a STCbus-phobia(for the way they are driven and ofcourse being overcrowded) but its only after I came to bangalore my view towards them changed. Every week I make sure atleast one day I travel by bus to office(my own way of saving on some carbon footprints from my bike). Never thought of so while in other cities. A big shout to BMTC for doing a great job.

But yeah the volvos have gone excruciatingly expensive now. Back in 2009-10 I remember paying 25-30 bux for JP Nagar to Bellandur(Ecospace) which now hovers around 60 bux. And a travel to airport makes a dent of ~250INR now which makes sense only if you are alone.

Originally Posted by srinivasr79

My experience with BMTC is not so great.

1. The conductors never issue tickets when you travel short distance and just say "kodi sir". They are OK with 2,3 or 5 rupees. This is something I have never seen in TNSTCs/MTC.

2. They dont return change at all. For example, if the ticket is 8 or 9 rupees, they'll never return the change unless you stress. This is again something I have never seen in TNSTC/MTC.

That must be a one-off case brother. I have been in bangalore for 4 years now and never faced this issue.

Originally Posted by srinivasr79

I'm surprised how they can run in profits by having a system like point 1 and also with the volvo buses going mainly vacant...

Probably you never had a look at them during peak office hours. It gets almost impossible to even board them if you are not at the starting point.

Originally Posted by DWind

...

At one point in time BMTC used to have kannada numerals in its bus numbers. Not sure if it is followed but I found them to be pretty unhelpful!

Not the case since last 4 years atleast. All the Buses have both English and Kannada numbers/names and are pretty user-friendly now.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by girimajiananth

-Well , I guess you had a bad experience with one or two conductors , even here they write the balance change amount on the back of your ticket and ask you to collect it later . Please do not put everyone in the same basket .

Exactly. Some conductors and routes may have problem. The routes and buses I have commuted in my pre-university days are flawless. I find that the services in semi urban areas are a little corrupt but if one demands a ticket they wont refuse to give.

-Chennai autos are more modern ? How ? Do they come with air conditioners or airbags or ABS ? autos are autos everywhere . They are no different .

-Every company has its own business model . BMTC has certainly come a long way in providing bus connectivity to remote parts of the city and its no easy task. I agree that they are not the best , but lets at least encourage them in providing better service.

Well they have indeed been up to date and also from what I have observed they do keep a fresh fleet of buses as far as possible. We rarely see those box shaped buses, and even the buses which succeeded the box type buses are rarely spotted in prominent and peak routes.

Also frequency of buses in my area are just not to complain about. It may not be the same everywhere, but I have a bus coming to the nearest stop every minute or two. And yes I dont stay in the CBD or so. Even volvos arent rare here.

[srinivasr79]

Gentlemen

I've been travelling in and out of bangalore for the past 3 years and I've virtually travelled across karnataka in these years. As mentioned I'd have travelled nearly 30 times in BMTC (as I use my own transportation and I dont stay outside KA and in TN) and nearly travel with BMTC for 70 kilometers daily. So, I fairly understand the routes and the operations.

BMTC may not be bad and even be good, but I wont agree saying someone saying "it is best compared to other STCs which are outdated and unmaintained vehicles" without even knowing how other STCs are working.

And the change issue is a widespread issue which you can notice in any bus you board. I have got into the problem more than 50% times and since I insist for tickets I end up paying the higher actual fare.

In chennai, all buses have boards in tamil and english atleast for the past 20 years.

I know chennai autos doesn't have airbags, ABS and AC. So is the non-volvo/corona buses in BMTC. so, why do they charge more?. The argument point is this.

I cannot understand the relation between education and behavior. There are ample examples of uneducated auto drivers returning huge cash of misplaced customers and helping the woman during pregnancy while the bus conductors/drivers dont even stop the buses at the bus stop. (in any STCs for that matter)

Again sorry if had hurted someone.

Srini

[dass]

Not sure how many of you have observed, but some of the normal BMTC buses infact make audio announcement of the next stop. This is a great help to people, who can neither read or understand the local language.

Short changing on tickets is rampant across the board, why blame BMTC alone? It is your right to demand the change and the ticket and we should all do it w/o fail each and everytime.

[mazda4life]

Day before yesterday I boarded a bus from 4th block till 4th T block Jayanagar , didn't know what wAs the fare and gave the conductor 4 rs and didn't get a ticket. He must have assumed that I was ok with the travel without ticket as the cost was 5 rs ( which I later learnt). I waited for a second and gave him 2 rs more and promptly got the ticket. Point is that , conductors will try to make a quick buck without a doubt , but they do realize if the other party doesn't want to play ball, they will follow rules.

[vinair]

Originally Posted by srinivasr79

@navrddy

Can you pls explain which other STCs you are comparing? and are you comparing apples to apples?

For the past 3 years whenever I travelled in bangalore or even between other places to bangalore in KSRTC, I have got into the ticketing issues I mentioned. I would have travelled atleast 20 times and more than 10 times I got into the ticketing issues and so it is not a rare case definitely.

I have no problem in peole calling BMTC as the best service in India. it is their opinion. But unfortunately the reality is different.

coming to your points.

1. People have to provide exact change: i agree to this. But what happens in chennai (the city I live) is the for example the ticket is Rs.9 and I'm giving Rs.10 and if the conductor does nt have any change is he'll ask for one more rupee so that he can give Rs.2 change. else he'll say to collect it when we get down. None of that happens in bangalore. He'll just give Rs.9 ticket and moves away. The bahviour of BMTC/KSRTC conductors mostly is no different from the chennai auto rickshaw guys before the metering system has been implemented in chennai. Chennai autos are more clean and modern than bangalore autos FYI. So according to your point can we justlfy them asking for more charges?

2. The so called "gramandhira sarige" buses which ask for less charge is in the same state as any other village buses else where. BMTC even could nt answer properly for them writing only in kannada in their normal buses. Many state STUs write both in english and the regional language and bangalore is a cosmopolitan city. I'm not against kannada and not asking to ignore kannada also but explaining the real weaknesses of the "so-called" modern bus company.

Mate, just visit these two sites - http://www.mtcbus.org/ http://www.mybmtc.com/

Do let us all know which one you find the most useful and purposeful.

Its for nothing, we bangaloreans are really, really proud of BMTC!

[srinivasr79]

Gentlemen

I have no comments for people "who are proud of BMTC", as it is their own opinion.

I see a comparision between MTC and BMTC . For them I want to say, I nowhere has mentioned that MTC is best and other STCs are bad. MTC has its own weaknesses.

It is funny to note that people in this forum say that it is the passengers duty to get the ticket even the conductor is not giving. If the conductor on the first step is not giving the ticket, it is basically cheating/taking bribe. No one who supports BMTC has a valid reply here for the same.

Reg volvo buses going full in peak hours - I can show you hundreds of examples in hosur road alone of how AC buses are plying free during peak hours. The cost (both capex and opex) of running a volvo bus is huge => there should be minimum less crowded trips. Even if all volvo goes full during peak hours, it alone does not provide profitability.

Further BMTC makes good money by providing its buses for "chartered trips" for IT companies during peak hours. This doesn't happen in many cities and this means although they portray these buses are available for public, they are not. In other cities, private buses are used for "chartered trips".

If someone believes that "check the difference in websites" and so we are proud of BMTC, I really dont know how to react>.


Srini

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by srinivasr79

Gentlemen

I know chennai autos doesn't have airbags, ABS and AC. So is the non-volvo/corona buses in BMTC. so, why do they charge more?. The argument point is this.

I cannot understand the relation between education and behavior. There are ample examples of uneducated auto drivers returning huge cash of misplaced customers and helping the woman during pregnancy while the bus conductors/drivers dont even stop the buses at the bus stop. (in any STCs for that matter)

Srini

Prices are based on distance and facilities in the bus and not by the brand name . Volvo or corona does not matter . What matters is whether the bus is air conditioned or not .


Those auto driver who have exhibited good behavior are the ones who are educated (I am not telling that they have fancy degrees ) . They know how to behave in a society. Those bus drivers who do not stop at the designated stops are what we Team Bhpians call bad drivers.

There are good and bad people in all communities and in all professions .

[msdivy]

I hope this thread gives information about BMTC (& BTS), instead of debating on BMTC vs others.