The first two air-conditioned coaches given to the BMTC by Tata-Marcopolo Motors Limited (TMML) on an experimental basis will run between Kempe Gowda Bus Terminus and Nelamangala (route no. 258 C) and Hoskote (317A).

Minister for Transport R. Ashok, who flagged off the service, said that it was a gift to the people of Bangalore on the occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava.

Mr. Ashok said the BMTC would run the buses on an experimental basis for sometime before taking a decision on purchasing more vehicles of the same class.

The minimum fare on this service will be Rs. 5 and the maximum Rs. 25, whereas the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) charges Rs. 20 as minimum fare and Rs. 45 as maximum fare.

He said users of BMTC services could travel as far as Hoskote and Nelamangala for Rs. 25 in air-conditioned coaches of Marcopolo. Depending on the response of the commuters, the BMTC would go in for more such buses. Compared to Vajra (Volvo buses), travel cost in Marcopolo would be cheaper by 40 per cent per stage.

Mr. Ashok said the State Government had given all clearances to TMML to start operations at its plant in Dharwad and the State could now boast of having the largest bus bodybuilder with an investment of Rs. 1,500 crore and employment opportunities for over 6,000 people. Chief Executive Officer of TMML Lusuir Grochat said the DTC had 600 Marcopolo coaches. The coaches with low-floor had been designed to facilitate easy boarding and exit. There were two variants – manual transmission and automatic transmission.

Coach builders have made arrangements for travellers with special needs such as wheelchair parking bay, special stop buttons to help commuters to communicate with the driver, and air curtains to keep away dust. Electronic destination signboards alert the passengers on their respective destinations.

Source: The Hindu

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The AC buses have public address system, LCD panel showing real-time route information such as en-route pick up points, distance and travel time apart from entertainment videos, internet connectivity, mobile charger, newspapers and helper facility for luggage handling.

This agreement between BMTC and Ticketvala.com heightens the level of convenience as the passengers can book their tickets in advance and avoid the uncomfortable search of transport.

Seat booking on the Volvo buses run by BMTC, from the city of Bangalore to the Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) and vice versa are now as simple as logging on to www.ticketvala.com or a simple call to 1800-209-2222

This convenient and reliable method enables airport passengers to check availability and book the seat of their choice. Apart from real time bus bookings Ticketvala.com also offers other travel services like hotels and hiring of cars and buses.

Source:India e News

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The board, at its recent meeting, agreed to extend the metro from Yeshwantpur to Hessarghatta Cross and from R.V. Road Junction to Banashankari (Jaragennahalli).

Slated to be taken up in five schedules, BMRCL wants the Byappanahalli-Cricket Stadium (KSCA) segment to be completed first (by March 2010) Yeshwanthpur-Swastik by November 2010, underground section by October 2011, City Railway Station-Mysore Road section by October 2011 and City Market-R.V. Road Junction by December 2011.

The project would comprise two corridors east-west and north-south. The east-west corridor will be 18.1 km in length and will start at Byappanahalli (NGEF Complex) and terminate at Mysore Road. It would cover Indiranagar, CMH Road, Swamy Vivekananda Road, M.G. Road, Ambedkar Road, Post Office Road, K.G. Road, Majestic, KSRTC Bus Stand, Bangalore City Railway Station, Magadi Road, Tool Gate, Chord Road, Vijayanagar, Mysore Road up to Ring Road Junction.

The north-south corridor would start at Yeshwanthpur and terminate at Jayanagar. It would cover Chord Road, Mahakavi Kuvempu Junction, Swastik, Platform Road, KSRTC Bus Stand, Chickpet, City Market, K.R. Road, Vani Vilas Road, Lalbagh, R.V. Road, South End Circle and Jayanagar.

While the main depot-cum-workshop for the east-west corridor is planned at Byappanahalli, for the north-south corridor, the depot is slated to be set up at Yeshwanthpur.

Meanwhile, BMRCL says the commissioning of the Byappanahalli-cricket stadium line would depend on how fast work was taken up on constructing a workshop and depot at the NGEF Grounds.

With the Government just having issued a final notification for acquiring NGEF land, BMRCL now sees no major hitches in completing this section.

The Metro project, with all the reaches, is expected to cost Rs. 6,395 crore.

When completed, the metro would reduce travel time from Byappanahalli to Mysore Road from the current two hours to 30 minutes.

Similarly, the distance from Yeshwanthpur to R.V. Road Junction could be covered in 28 minutes against the present two hours.

On its part, the Government says that it had set out 151 milestones for the successful completion of the project, and of this, 27 milestones have been achieved.

The Government still hopes that the project, despite facing hitches, would become operational by December 2011.

Source: THE HINDU

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