The government has allocated a budget of Rs 50 Crore to the BMTC this year, the bus terminals in Bangalore lack basic facilities—like proper lights, seating and parking faciliies.
Nikita Arora
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) terminals in the city has become a worrisome issue for commuters. as they are crowded, dirty and a perfect spots for miscreants. These bus terminals are situated at prime locations—like Majestic, K.R. Market, Shivajinagar, Shanti Nagar, and Banashankari.
Commuters also complain of the unmaintained terminals. Gitesh Narula, a regular commuter from Majestic to HSR, said, “The Pourakarmikas can clean up to an extent. Despite dustbins being all over the place, people continue to throw garbage around and spit in the place. Had there been some fines against such misconduct, probably the situation would not have been so bad.”
Radha Lakshmi, 22, a commuter from Shanti Nagarcomplains about the lack of staff at the bus terminal. She said, “There is no person on the help desk to assist me. If I want to know the bus timings of buses, I have to google it and find it by myself. And, most of the time it is not even accurate.”
BMTC guidelines say that all the bus terminals in the city ought to have appropriate seating and lighting, public conveniences, information systems, safety, and security, ATMs, daily needs shopping, park and ride facilities and other citizen amenity centers.
Prachi Agarwal, who takes a bus from Majestic Bus terminal, complains about the safety issue. She said, “There are no proper entry and exit lanes. I have to run on the pathways to catch a bus and sometimes between the terminals. It is quite risky at times, but I do not have any other option.”
Deepak N, BMTC Public Relations Officer said, “All the Traffic Transit Management Centres (TTMCs) have the facilities. People should check at inquiry desk regarding updates about the traffic. Adequate number of staffs are deployed for the same. But the reason for their unavailability could be meal breaks.”
As per 2019 budget the Karnataka government has allocated funds worth Rs 50 Crore to BMTC for ‘implementation of a comprehensive mobility scheme; priority for public transport and stabilization.’ However, the condition of the bus terminals of the city tells a different story.
Ashish, an architect said, “The problem here is that the bus station design is outdated. Public safety was not kept in mind while designing such terminals. People cross the lanes to catch a bus and risk their lives. The bus terminals do not follow a barrier-free design. There are hardly any sky walks and underpasses for people with deformities. There ought to be segregation between the departure area and an allied area. These should never coincide.”
