BMTC all set to roll out 36 buses for metro feeder routes

Although the Bangalore Metro is yet to be open for commercial operations, the metro feeder buses of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) are all set to hit the roads. BMTC will roll out first 36 buses for feeder services around six stations on Reach 1.

“We will either start to ply these feeder buses from the day Metro begins its operations or from the next day. In the beginning, we will deploy 36 buses for the six stations, as this is a small catchment area to be catered to,” said BMTC managing director KR Sreenivas . 

He added that the buses have lost their new look and feel. “They will be sent to Indiranagar depot where they will be refurbished,” he said.

BMTC refurbished about 70 buses, including 10 Swaraj Mazda buses during April-May and rolled them out to other routes. These buses are specifically branded in silver with a pink streak in the middle.

Earlier, the BMTC had planned to roll out 64 buses and identified 26 feeder routes around six stations. The routes are fixed - five each around Byappanahalli, MG Road, Indiranagar and four routes around Halasuru, Trinity Circle, and SV Road.
Senior BMTC officials said that they are speculating on the metro for passengers on this small stretch.

BMTC chief traffic manager (operations) MP Prabhudas said, “We can deploy about 60 to 70 feeder buses, if the demand goes up on all 26 routes. We will finalise the identification of these buses within the next four to five days and publicise how the buses would be known as so that it benefits the metro passengers.”