Bengaluru: In order to encourage more people to use BMTC buses on ‘Less Traffic Day’ on February 11, State Transport Minister H.M. Revanna has directed BMTC officials to reduce the price of pne-day passes on that particular day. The Less Traffic Day will be held on the second Sunday of every month.
The government decided to have ‘Less Traffic Day’ campaign after various citizens’ forum and civilians raised concern against rising air pollution levels in the city.
Bengaluru has around 71 lakh registered vehicles, out of which 60 lakh are private vehicles and over seven lakh of yellow board registered vehicles. The steep increase in the number of private vehicles has resulted in high pollution levels.
Mr Revanna told Deccan Chronicle, “We have directed the BMTC officials to reduce the tariff on one-day pass on Less Traffic Day to encourage people to use BMTC bus. The rates will be announced soon, as the officials are yet to decide on how much they can reduce.”
He said the government and the public should join hands in protecting the environment for a better living. “At least on one day of every month, let us stop taking out private vehicles, so that there is some effort to contain the air pollution and everyone in the city should contribute for a better tomorrow,” Revanna said.
BMTC Managing Director V. Ponnuraj said, “We will add extra fleet of buses to make sure that there is no rush and also help passengers reach their destinations on time. We need the public support to make it successful.”
A BMTC officer said, “Before we could go ahead with the plan, we identified reasons why the people were not taking BMTC buses and a majority of them said it was the high price. We then informed the Transport Minister, who suggested to reduce the price on one-day pass for that particular day and increase bus frequency.”
The minister also directed to BMTC officials to instruct drivers and conductors to bring about awareness among the passengers, who can in turn inform their colleagues and friends about Less Traffic Day, he said.
“There will be display and a banner put up at bus stands asking people to use the BMTC buses. Every department like the traffic, transport, BBMP, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Citizen’s forum and public should be mobilized to make the day successful,” the officer said.
