Double-decker buses to make a comeback in Bengaluru by year-end
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has said the government would finalise the tender for the buses in a week.
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Though the BMTC had floated a tender for five double-decker buses, it was scrapped due to the high price of the buses quoted. (File photo/ Representational) The double-decker buses which were part of transport services in Bengaluru until the late 90s are expected to make a comeback in the city roads soon. With an objective to run the buses on high-density traffic roads, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is expecting to launch the services by the end of 2023, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy told reporters Monday.
He said the government would finalise the tender for the buses in a week. “Five routes are planned in the city,” he said, noting that the routes will have to be planned in such a way as to avoid underpasses and other hindrances to the movement of buses.
“This will help tourists. Such buses ran in the city when we were children…. Someone sent me a Japan model (of the bus). I have asked the BMTC managing director to emulate the model,” he said.
Though the BMTC had floated a tender for five double-decker buses, it was scrapped due to the high price of the buses quoted. A re-tender was being floated following a recent Cabinet decision.
BMTC has also decided to do away with the one-and-half times fare collected during night services between 11 pm and 5 am. Reddy said that the decision was meant for male passengers travelling at those hours of the day. BMTC was collecting 1.5 times the travel fare due to lower occupancy during night hours.
Reddy announced that BMTC’s mobile app ‘Namma BMTC’ would be officially launched on September 25 as part of BMTC’s 25th anniversary celebration. BMTC will also honour 150 accident-free drivers on the same day.
The app is equipped with live tracking of buses, a fare calculator, and information on the location of nearby bus stops, among other features.
Similar to UPI-based payments being facilitated by North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) on a pilot basis, Reddy announced that a similar cashless ticketing facility would be launched in Bengaluru as well.
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