[ShreyG]

Originally Posted by m8002?

The metro Yellow line to E-city keeps getting delayed again and again. Now its pushed to Jan with trains every 30 min

This is kind of becoming like the Bangalore Stonehenge. Delays upon delays upon delays. The initial start date was December 2021 IIRC which kept getting pushed. Even now, >3 years after the deadline, it is a half hearted start (if it happens at all) with 30 mins gaps between trains and 5 out of the 10 stops non functional. Seeing the traffic on Hosur Road, it won't be long before this section of the metro is also overwhelmed by the footfall. The tracks have been laid and ready to go for more than a year now. Not an expert, but won't non usage make the tracks rust and cause cracks over time? Knowing the attitude of guv orgs, maintenance when non operational would be least of the concerns, even if it makes it to list of concerns.
I also look forward to the grand opening ceremony which will be shamelessly attended by the political bigwigs to hog credit and show off the great and super efficient work being done by them. The underpass on the oil airport road is an example of it.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by G13BB

BMTC frequency is highly uncertain (sometimes there will be 3-4 buses back to back, sometimes there is nothing for 30 mins),...

Experienced this yet again on Saturday. I had to meet some friends clear across town early in the morning, we were heading out on an excursion. The pickup spot was the last stop on the Metro line.

I usually take my bike from home and park it near a Metro station. Got ready by 5am and was ready to leave, but my bike refused to start for some reason. Didn't have the car either for that day. No chance I would get a cab or auto from my area that early, so took a chance on BMTC and walked to the bus stop.

Great news was I got a bus at 5:30am. Kudos to BMTC. What I didn't understand was why there were 3 (yes 3!) all following each other, on the exact same route. Naturally, they were all almost empty at that hour. Now I could be pragmatic and say so what I'm lucky I got a bus at that hour to the Metro station, all is well. But I don't see the logic of having 3 buses run at the same time on that route, almost empty at that hour.

Got back from my excursion late afternoon. Waited in vain for a bus back for more than 30 mins. Of course at that time there weren't any. Had to take an auto back.

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say the drivers need to make a scheduled number of trips a day, they do it when there is less traffic and finish it off. Understandable, no one likes to drive in traffic, especially a bus, but not sure how that will help commuters at the time more frequent buses are really needed.

I'm not sure that has anything to do with being a developing country or population density. Just bad operational planning.

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by am1m

Great news was I got a bus at 5:30am. Kudos to BMTC. What I didn't understand was why there were 3 (yes 3!) all following each other, on the exact same route.


Got back from my excursion late afternoon. Waited in vain for a bus back for more than 30 mins. Of course at that time there weren't any. Had to take an auto back.

Were they all the same route numbers or just happened to be plying on the same route?

If you can tell me from what point to what point did you take the bus, I can elaborate a bit more/hazard a guess. However, traditionally, lunch hours or just after lunch are notorious for lack of buses. It's the famed 'lunch hour schedule' and for anyone that uses BMTC buses, it's generally a reality that has to be accepted. As is the same 'Skeletal' service schedule that is/was notorious in Bangalore and Chennai on Sundays.

Early mornings, there are never a dearth of buses, especially for those going from villages to the 'City'. Most villages have an early morning bus connecting their village to the city (esp KR Market), expected to help the villagers carry their ware to KRM to sell. Although in recent times, many farmers are rich enough to have their own pickup trucks to delivery their ware to the markets, the BMTC practice persists. The heady smell of Dhaniya or freshly plucked 'Sevantige' or 'Gulabi' as well as the counterbalancing smell of musty gunny bags and betel leaves and tobacco are forever a part of me and my memories, having smelt them each morning riding on BMTC to school to the 'City'. As are the Agarbathis and Grandige items carried to Malleshwaram ( Sampige Road, Circle or Market ) in the 90/90x route#.

BMTC buses are time tracked and if they chose to run at random hours at their convenience, they will face severe backlash, especially from the rural sides. In the city, it may not matter too much to the commuters. The Namma BMTC application tracked buses fairly well in 2023, but I haven't used it anytime recently. Maybe worth a try.

I live in and around 560066 and the buses are always timely ( not to be confused with 'frequent' )

[am1m]

Originally Posted by airguitar

Were they all the same route numbers or just happened to be plying on the same route?

Same route numbers, that was what was so bizarre. I can totally understand if they were different route numbers that had some differences in route on the way to Majestic. On Saturday, I took one of them only till the Metro station, but these 3 were following each other across multiple stops and all were headed to Majestic. I've taken this bus number several times in the past (before the Metro) to Majestic.

This is not the first time I've observed this, I've lived in the same area for a long time, and several times I'll see 2 buses follow each other in the morning, no buses in the evening.

Originally Posted by airguitar

BMTC buses are time tracked and if they chose to run at random hours at their convenience, they will face severe backlash, especially from the rural sides. In the city, it may not matter too much to the commuters.

I was under this assumption too. I'm going to download the BMTC app now and see if the tracking works. Thanks!

But seeing the big picture, I'm really not sure many people will persist. They'll use their own vehicles, and that is the demographic we need to shift to public transport. I'm a huge believer in public transport (that doesn't include Ola/Uber IMHO), plus I hate driving in Bangalore, so I'm going to keep checking in with BMTC. But I really think better management of whatever public transport resources we have is a pressing need, and can be done quite easily, with some will and enforcement. Much before considering things like congestion pricing or underground tunnels.

Especially considering: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...le68613975.ece

"Research reveals worsening air quality in Bengaluru, Mangaluru and Mysuru "

[akhil_007]

Originally Posted by am1m

What I didn't understand was why there were 3 (yes 3!) all following each other, on the exact same route. Naturally, they were all almost empty at that hour. Now I could be pragmatic and say so what I'm lucky I got a bus at that hour to the Metro station, all is well. But I don't see the logic of having 3 buses run at the same time on that route, almost empty at that hour.

Very Nostalgic. Thank you for sharing this. Took me back to Bangalore of 90's-2000's, though I never got a similar thought as yours. I was frequent traveller by BMTC with Malleshwaram and Queens Road being my destination. Majestic and Corporation were my interchange stops. I used to travel at different times throughout the week and I have experienced this 'n' number of times(3-4 buses with same number back to back) mostly at Corporation. The bus with least crowd used to get my business as I felt they would have minimum number of stops due to low crowd.

Upon asking the conductor, I vaguely remember him telling me that "One bus for one route at one particular time is not sufficient. BMTC cares for people and hence puts multiple buses at same time for a route".

I started liking BMTC more from that day onwards and even now, I prefer traveling in normal non-ac BMTC with rattling windows and rain drops hitting me on the face. If I am driving, I don't honk at BMTC and always give them right of way on the road

Originally Posted by airguitar

Early mornings, there are never a dearth of buses, especially for those going from villages to the 'City'. Most villages have an early morning bus connecting their village to the city (esp KR Market), expected to help the villagers carry their ware to KRM to sell. The heady smell of Dhaniya or freshly plucked 'Sevantige' or 'Gulabi' as well as the counterbalancing smell of musty gunny bags and betel leaves and tobacco are forever a part of me and my memories, having smelt them each morning riding on BMTC to school

Thank you for reminding this. I share similar feelings as you do. Watching KR Market from a elevated position sitting in bus is a different vibe. You can see all the colours(flowers and fruits), soak the smell (pleasant and nasty). One memory that I have is giving a helping hand to a farmer to unload his bag in KR Market. As a token of appreciation, he gave me a Pineapple . I did not know how to react

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by am1m

I'm a huge believer in public transport (that doesn't include Ola/Uber IMHO)

I don't know if anyone agrees, taxi aggregators 'worsened' the traffic situation in the city. Private cars atleast get to their destinations and free the roads up. The aggregators - not so they are always on the road. I have definitive observations at what point traffic really changed in Bengaluru from bad to worse. 2013-14.

Originally Posted by akhil_007

Very Nostalgic. Thank you for sharing this. Took me back to Bangalore of 90's-2000's, though I never got a similar thought as yours. I was frequent traveller by BMTC with Malleshwaram and Queens Road being my destination. As a token of appreciation, he gave me a Pineapple . I did not know how to react

Went to MES College ? Separately, the pineapple token is exactly how life was. Even today, outside of the city ( esp, Mandya, Chamarajanagar etc ), if you are at a harvesting site they would give you a sugarcane or two out of love and happiness. Money has replaced all emotions right now inside the city, outside, there still exist people that want to talk out of humanity. Sorry, I'm biased against the city.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by am1m

But I don't see the logic of having 3 buses run at the same time on that route, almost empty at that hour.

Got back from my excursion late afternoon. Waited in vain for a bus back for more than 30 mins. Of course at that time there weren't any. Had to take an auto back.

I have used BMTC Volvo service extensively on ORR for almost 10 years before COVID-19. My home was hardly 200m from the bus stop, and my office was 100m. The bus took the same route as the car; if i didn't take the narrow bylanes. While waiting for buses, I noticed other non-AC bus routes. I have talked to the depot managers, offered them suggestions on route changes, and to the consultancy that does route analysis. I had shared my opinion here (Rants on Bangalore's traffic situation), here (Rants on Bangalore's traffic situation) and here (Rants on Bangalore's traffic situation).

I have seen, on some days, 3, or 4 buses are waiting in line at the starting depot. On a few days, no buses for 30 minutes at the same hour. When there are no buses, the crowd builds up and there is a massive rush to board the buses. Once I have seen ten 500C buses waiting at BTM Udipi garden signal towards Banashankari (I have a video of that).

Summarizing, BMTC routes are decided by management. BMTC schedule is decided by driver/conductor. Only in old Bangalore areas (Jayanagar, Malleshwaram, etc) the timings mostly are adhered to.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by msdivy

I have seen, on some days, 3, or 4 buses are waiting in line at the starting depot. On a few days, no buses for 30 minutes at the same hour. When there are no buses, the crowd builds up and there is a massive rush to board the buses. Once I have seen ten 500C buses waiting at BTM Udipi garden signal towards Banashankari (I have a video of that).

Summarizing, BMTC routes are decided by management. BMTC schedule is decided by driver/conductor. Only in old Bangalore areas (Jayanagar, Malleshwaram, etc) the timings mostly are adhered to.

Originally Posted by akhil_007

Upon asking the conductor, I vaguely remember him telling me that "One bus for one route at one particular time is not sufficient. BMTC cares for people and hence puts multiple buses at same time for a route".

Originally Posted by am1m

This is not the first time I've observed this, I've lived in the same area for a long time, and several times I'll see 2 buses follow each other in the morning, no buses in the evening.

I believe we are over-thinking on this.

I would assume it's just a function of travel delays; and buses trying to stick to their planned timelines. Also some drivers drive fast; others are much more relaxed. Probability dictates that buses will get clubbed once in a while for sure.

On a recent weekend trip, I took a route 356 bus back and forth from Majestic to Bannerghatta national park. In the morning (~6 am) only one bus was departing the terminus and I didn't see any other. However on the return journey around late afternoon; I boarded one that was just to start. Noticed around 4 buses departed one after another (one filled up bus left before mine; and saw two others overtake my bus during the ~1 hour journey back to Majestic).


Also, this isn't a Bangalore specific trend but happens across other cities that have high bus patronage - e.g. Chennai. Any Chennai local would tell you that popular routes (e.g. 29C, 21G, 1A/1C, etc.) will see 2-3 buses coming in unison and then a significant gap for a while. My parent's house is close to a bus terminus and we would see 2-3 buses (with same route number) exiting at the same time at least once a day.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by airguitar

Early mornings, there are never a dearth of buses, especially for those going from villages to the 'City'. Most villages have an early morning bus connecting their village to the city (esp KR Market), expected to help the villagers carry their ware to KRM to sell.

This tradition still continues. I live in the suburbs of the city, and from two adjacent villages there are buses towards KR Market in the morning (usually some where between 7:00 to 8:00AM). There is also a 'last bus service' to the villages the previous night. These buses then are parked in the village square and the crew mostly would rest inside the bus.

Originally Posted by am1m

I can totally understand if they were different route numbers that had some differences in route on the way to Majestic.

The incident you reported happened in the morning hours, so it is a bit strange. But in rush hours, I have seen this happening very often. The 'root cause' is the heavy traffic jams in one or two areas within the city. In my case it was the Madiwala PS junction. The buses (with same route #) may have left Majestic in a gap or 15-20 mins. But by the time they reach MPS, they all kind of arrive close to each other. And from then on, it is like a convoy.

Originally Posted by msdivy

Summarizing, BMTC routes are decided by management. BMTC schedule is decided by driver/conductor. Only in old Bangalore areas (Jayanagar, Malleshwaram, etc) the timings mostly are adhered to.

Are you sure on the driver/conductor deciding the schedules/timings? Because in that case, they would schedule it based on their convenience. I don't think so the crew have such luxury. I am relying on two points. In Majestic Bus Stand (KBS) there use to be time table books which can be purchased by generic public. Route #, and the service timings will be listed for each trip. Earlier I used to stay near a bus depot in the suburb limits (non-BBMP area). My observation is that they have a set of schedule which starts at around 7:30AM-08:00AM in the morning. I see the crew arriving and buses going out of the depot. During the same time I also see many buses which ran during the night, ending their duty turns. Then there is another shift which starts at around 2PM. The crew who started their work at around 8:00AM, comes back with the buses at around 4:00PM.

Originally Posted by akhil_007

I was frequent traveller by BMTC with Malleshwaram and Queens Road being my destination. Majestic and Corporation were my interchange stops.
...
I started liking BMTC more from that day onwards and even now, I prefer traveling in normal non-ac BMTC with rattling windows and rain drops hitting me on the face. If I am driving, I don't honk at BMTC and always give them right of way on the road

My regular commute in BMTC using the 'monthly pass' ended some where in mid-2019. But before that when working for two organizations I relied on BMTC for the daily commute. And another common point was that I switched over to BMTC during the last few months in each of those organizations . The work schedule was predictable, and I also found the BMTC to be a convenient option. Even though in the fast, rigorous "corporate world" for nearly two decades, some where in my heart there is that longing/liking for the slower life style of the 1980s and 1990s. And BMTC bus journeys really helped in re-living those moments. No need to drive, nothing much to do in the bus other than to keep looking out of the window and watching the world go by. This was the time to get nostalgic as well.

[airguitar]

https://www.deccanherald.com/india/k...nction-3185294

An underpass at Hopefarm junction! A well designed clover is the need of the hour, not an underpass with ill-designed, constipated egress/ingress. The Kundalahalli underpass is the greatest 'success' story in recent times - it's an elevated stretch of road with all the congestion moved to either end of it - one of the most highly ineffective pieces of work in the recent times and the HF junction perhaps will follow suit.

Bangalore has a poor history of flyover design : Marathahalli Bridge, KR Puram Hanging Bridge etc.

[atnyia]

Originally Posted by airguitar

[url]
The Kundalahalli underpass is the greatest 'success' story in recent times - it's an elevated stretch of road with all the congestion moved to either end of it

I don't think underpass is an issue.

Having u turns less than 100 meters from the underpass defeats the purpose. They need to avoid all U turns on the main arterial roads. Service lanes simply don't exist.

Gurgaon fixed it by elaborate service lanes and underpasses. Shankar Chowk was a stuff of nightmare 10 years back. It used to take 30-45 mins to simply come out of Cyber City parking and hit the expressway 200 metres away.

Near home, Eco world underpasses work. I remember a time where coming out from ecoworld to ORR used to take 45 minutes.

Bangalore traffic can only be improved by elevated roads and removing transit traffic from our roads by peripheral roads like STRR. There is simply no space or any city planning. Delhi NCR did the same. It takes 1 hour 20 mins for me to reach to my sister's place in NCR, compared to 3 hours before with absolutely no fatigue.

[airguitar]

Originally Posted by atnyia

I don't think underpass is an issue.

Having u turns less than 100 meters from the underpass defeats the purpose. They need to avoid all U turns on the main arterial roads. Service lanes simply don't exist.
....

Bangalore traffic can only be improved by elevated roads and removing transit traffic from our roads by peripheral roads like STRR. There is simply no space or any city planning. Delhi NCR did the same. It takes 1 hour 20 mins for me to reach to my sister's place in NCR, compared to 3 hours before with absolutely no fatigue.

Exactly what I meant to say. The underpass is not a problem in itself but it solves nothing right now. Traffic has shifted to the extremeties of the underpass now - that's it. The U turn just after Kundalahalli gate ( Allen/City Super Bazaar Junction ) is so bad right now that the traffic arising from vehicles wanting to take U Turn there ( and mannerless vehicles wanting to take a right U turn from the left most lane blocks everyone that needs to go straight ) backs up all the to Spice Garden. So it has solved nothing and that is the issue with all flyovers and underpasses in Bangalore - they only solve 10-15% of the traffic problem and making it worse for the remaining 80-85%.

Zero forethought on egress/ingress/interchange

[ShreyG]

TLDR : Are Bengaluru cabbies / autowallahs really that bad?

Full story -
I had recently travelled to Mumbai for short 3 day trip. I have to say it was fun and mildly frustrating as a Bangalorean.
1. To start off, I booked an Uber from Mumbai's T1 to my office in Airoli. The cabbie called, asked me to a designated spot and showed up within a few mins. No questions on exact drop or payment method. And this was when it was pouring cats and dogs.

2. Next, I wished to go from Airoli to Vashi for some work and my colleagues suggested an auto to save time and money. I, skeptically, hailed one on the main road and received the shock of my life. Not only did the auto stop, he did not even ask my drop and asked me to sit, turned on the meter and started moving. He then asked my drop location. I assumed this to be a one in a million cosmic fluke and moved

3. But this did not stop here. Twice again, I hailed an auto, was asked to sit first, meter was turned on and then my drop location was asked. No negotiation, shouting etc etc we are used to here with our beloved Bangalore autowallahs (if at all they stop).

4. On the final day, I had to rush to the airport (I was in Hiranandani Powai) and it started raining relentlessly. Again, my colleague suggested to book an Uber Auto, since they would respond faster. This time, I confidently booked one and he was at the pickup within minutes, ready to rush to the airport. Again no ques on payment method

5. Finally, back at Bangalore airport, I booked an Uber and waited patiently for my turn in the line. Was ushered to next cab, who asked my payment method before sitting down and simply refused to go since it was online. Happened once more before one guy relented (later I got to know he lives close by my drop)
Finally I was home

This post is in no way to belittle or insult my city, but just goes on to show that attitude and not compensation is the problem here. Mumbai may have its own set of problems which Bangalore does not, but commuting does not seem to be one of them. Just imagine how much easier would it be to move around the city if the autowallahs had even an iota of customer service in their attitude. But you can't have everything!!

[TravelIKON]

Originally Posted by airguitar

( and mannerless vehicles wanting to take a right U turn from the left most lane blocks everyone that needs to go straight )

Although "mannerless" would fit in any discussion on Bangalore's traffic, I feel the issue here in particular is bad traffic design. Anyone coming from graphite jn. and wanting to take a U turn in the spot you mentioned has no option but to make this extreme left to extreme right manouvre. And this is not the only such place in Bangalore with such an arrangement. Many such traffic jams are artificially created due to poor traffic management. Pitiful situation.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by ShreyG

Are Bengaluru cabbies / autowallahs really that bad?

Boss, you have not seen autos in TN. Autos everywhere is a ripoff, regardless of whether its a big city or small village.

I used to live in south Bangalore 2006-9. The only place I have seen non-metered auto rides is from railway station and major intercity bus stops like Dairy Circle or Silk Board. Everywhere else it was a metered ride.

Bombay was totally another level.