The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is set to introduce minibuses to address the lack of last mile connectivity for Metro rail users in the city. The move comes as the Metro network expands, but concerns remain over ridership, which could potentially increase if last mile connectivity improves.
The state government has approved the purchase of 200 minibuses. The BMTC is likely to split the purchase equally between 7-metre and 9-metre buses to reach narrow lanes, residential pockets, and apartment clusters.
The Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) is studying which Metro stations are best suited for the service and will recommend routes, BMTC Managing Director Raghunandan Murthy said. "Running the 9-metre and 12-metre-long buses on narrow roads is difficult," he told Public TV, adding that BMTC will deploy the buses based on DULT's recommendations.
The buses will initially run with a driver and conductor. However, BMTC is exploring tap-to-pay systems that accept contactless cards, mobile phones, and QR codes, which could allow conductor-less operation in the future. Flat fares of Rs 5 or Rs 10 are also being considered.
Raghunandan said the corporation is still working out the details, as no other state road transport corporation has attempted such a system. BMTC will need vendors to install automatic fare collection terminals and manufacturers to supply buses with a single door for entry and exit. The corporation is already evaluating 7-metre models from various companies.
The Karnataka Cabinet has also sanctioned the purchase of 800 fully built BS-VI diesel buses at an estimated Rs 304 crore, of which 200 are meant for BMTC.
About 40 lakh people use BMTC buses every day, but some neighbourhoods remain out of reach of the existing fleet.
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