Metro feeder buses burn a hole in BMTC's pocket
Transport experts and activists have advocated financial support for feeders.
Bengaluru: BMTC had recently revealed that its metro feeder services were being run at a loss and it needed Rs 18.1 crore as financial support. An official document accessed by Deccan Chronicle revealed that 15 feeder routes along the Purple Line were consistently incurring losses.
The document revealed that from October 2016 to March 2017, majority of bus routes on the East West corridor Metro feeder routes the expenditure to run those services was higher than the revenue.
The VMF-11 route, starting from SV Road Metro Station and ending at ITPL (a distance of 13.4 km) incurred the maximum loss of Rs 4,863 per kilometre. Totally these buses complimenting East-West metro stretch spent Rs 13,129 per km, but earned only Rs 7,464 per km.
Other routes despite passing through populous areas did not much patronage and incurred losses. For example, VMF-1A route, which covers a distance of the 29.7 km from S.V. Road Metro station and passes through Tin Factory, Mahadevpura, Marathahalli, Whitefield, Hoodi and K.R. Puram earned a negative revenue of Rs 3,968 per kilometre.
Experts moot Govt support
Transport experts and activists have advocated financial support for feeders.
Vinay Sreenivasa of Bus Prayannikara Vedike said, “BMTC does have shortage of buses on existing routes and it is impractical to ask a cash strapped agency to provide shuttles. When the State Government is pumping thousands of crores for Metro project, they must also fund BMTC feeder buses."
Shorter routes suggested
Other transport experts have mooted shuttle services of less than three kilometre radius. "Many of the existing feeder routes are random at best. Some are outdated, as they were designed when Reach 1 happened. MF-4, which connects MG Road Metro Station to Silk Board, does not make sense. That is not even a shuttle, but a regular long distance bus," said Srinidhi of Praaja RAAG advocacy group.