On first Thursday of every month, city bus service to experiment with new measures that will encourage techies to abandon private vehicles

Now, a 'Bus Day' every month to attract techies

On first Thursday of every month, city bus service to experiment with new measures that will encourage techies to abandon private vehicles

Public transport service BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) has taken a leaf out of the book of awareness creation gurus by marking a 'Bus Day' in its calendar to promote use of its services instead of private vehicles.

Now, the first Thursday of every month will be Bus Day, when several steps will be taken to woo techies, who are said to be major contributors to traffic congestion on city roads.

BMTC is focusing on two IT corridors, Hosur Road and the old airport road, for the first ever Bus Day on February 4.

"Yes, this is for the first time that BMTC will observe Bus Day," said Syed Zameer Pasha, MD, BMTC. "This is to spread awareness on public transport."

Advertising blitz

Striving hard to reach the IT crowd, BMTC is also advertising extensively about its initiative, the second part of its campaign to reach out to techies after the survey.

The Hosur Road and the old airport road leading to Electronics City and ITPL have been decided upon as the target routes initially.

While BMTC hopes to see techies giving up their vehicles in favour of buses on February 4, IT companies and their associations have already volunteered to help BMTC realise its plan.
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Companies such as Infosys and associations such as ORRCA (Outer Ring Road Companies' Association) have already called on employees to observe every first Thursday as Bus Day.

"We, a group of over 20 IT companies in Sarjapur ORR (outer ring road), have decided to join hands with BMTC and are working to make Bus Day a success," said S Vishwanath, manager, AOL, and general secretary, ORRCA.
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"A large number of professionals giving up their vehicles for at least a day means a lot."

Broad survey

Aiming to spread awareness on public transport as a sustainable commuting choice for a thriving and livable city, BMTC has sent a list of nine questions to techies in order to understand the needs of IT professionals better.

Besides their opinion on the concept of Bus Day, techies are also asked what mode of travel they employ to reach their companies, the reason for not taking BMTC buses, the route that would suit their commute, and timings they would prefer.

BMTC will also study aspects like private vehicle numbers and pollution caused due to these every day.

"Initially a survey is being conducted to understand issues like why BMTC services are being rejected," said Vishwanath. "This will help them (BMTC) improve their services, which in turn will reduce traffic in the city."

Implementation

Based on the findings of the survey, on Bus Day BMTC will make an attempt to provide better services.

As of now, the changes that have been thought of include plying 247 vehicles in the stretches decided upon instead of the usual 147 and new pick-up and drop points.

"We have many changes in store that will be revealed this Tuesday," said Pasha.

Experts feel the initiative, though an encouraging development, will prove to be quite a test for BMTC. "This is an encouraging initiative," said Prof M N Shrihari, traffic and transport expert.

"But they (BMTC) have to work on the implementation part. Aspects like reliability and punctuality in services needs to be addressed to draw people. It's no easy task."