A total of 61,47,323 people availed the free bus rides offered by Bengaluru Metropolitan Transportation Corporation (BMTC) to celebrate 25 years of service in Bengaluru on August 15. Bengalureans had access to all the buses within the city limits on Independence Day. This included not just the regular city buses, but also air conditioned and the customised Volvo buses as well.
“A total of 5,051 buses were operated on August 15. On this day, 61,47,323 passengers availed the facility compared to normal days. Daily an average of 28 lakh passengers have travelled during the month of August (till August 14) in BMTC buses,” a statement issued by BMTC read.
Earlier, Srinivas Alavalli, the Head of Civic Participation of the NGO Janaagraha, told TNM that he hopes this was not a one-time event and that the BMTC would organise more such events to promote public transportation. “There are many people who are interested in taking buses but are hesitant for many reasons and this kind of initiative encourages them,” he said, adding, “Particularly, the airport buses were all full, which tells you that if you make commuting feasible, people will switch to using buses. The fare of an airport bus costs Rs 250 to 290 per person. Lots of people carpool as that will be cheaper than taking a bus.”
Many people took to social media to share their experiences getting around the city for free. However, Bengaluru had significant traffic snarls at several locations despite the public holiday and increased use of public transportation. Additionally, commuters were not very happy with the BMTC since it was unprepared to meet the demand for bus services on August 15, as seen by the lengthy queues and bus shortages that were reported throughout the city.