With the extension of the Bengaluru Metro’s purple line set to be inaugurated on Sunday, August 29, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) announced that it will provide a feeder bus service to some of the new metro stations. In a press statement, the BMTC said that the new feeder buses will be operational from Monday, August 30.
The new service will include 35 new buses on nine routes and a total of 499 trips. The feeder buses will operate from 7 am to 9 pm. The BMTC said that the service will be “further rationalised based on passengers’ traffic and demand."
Currently, there are 22 routes operating from Rajarajeshwarinagara Gate towards Rajarajeshwari Nagar (RR Nagar). Forty-three buses are operational along this route and will complete 230 trips a day. There are 14 routes with 43 buses that run from Bengaluru University to Bengaluru University station gate, where the metro station is located.
According to the BMTC, there are different feeder service routes to various areas from the Kengeri Traffic and Transit Management Centre (TTMC) station. A total of 121 buses are deployed on 20 routes that go to the Uttarahalli area. A total of 266 busses operate on 45 routes to Kengeri Satellite Town, and 157 busses operate along 96 routes towards Kumbalagodu.
The new metro stretch will include the Nayandahalli, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Jnanabharathi, Pattanagere, Kengeri Bus Terminal and Kengeri stations. Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri will inaugurate the extended stretch. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will also be present during the inauguration. Following the inauguration, the metro line will be open to the public from August 30, according to the Times of India.
Earlier, Anjum Paewez, Managing Director, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), had told The Hindu that trains to the Kengeri station will operate regularly only during peak hours, which is from 8 am to 11 am and 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm. During the non-peak hours, every alternate train will operate to Kengeri.