On November 1, Bellanduru Jothege, a citizen action group is organising a meet-up between the public and the officials of Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). This is the most apt day because on this very day, the Bus Priority Lane (BPL) project will also begin from Byappanahalli and Central Silk Board. What this means is that the left side of Outer Ring Road will now only be meant for ambulances and BMTC buses. This is to almost halve the travel time between these destinations. They are introducing 45 buses specifically on this route towards this objective.
At the citizen meet earlier, several Bangaloreans were happy with this out-of-the-box thinking. While some suggested the central lane of ORR for the bus lanes as those were future-marked for the Bus Rapid Transit System. However, since BRTS is not yet on the government’s radar and it requires much planning and funds, the left lanes were chosen to kickstart the project. Already, trials were conducted on ORR near Marathahalli. If this is successful, the plan will be replicated and further improvised on 11 other busy roads.
To discuss this and several other initiatives, residents of Bellandur, HSR Layout, Sarjapur Road, Kasavanahalli, Somasundrapalya, Hosapalya, Kudlu and surroundings areas can show up on November 1 at the BMTC depot off 19th Main in Sector 4, HSR Layout.
Titled “BMTCConnect @ BMTC Depo” in HSR, the idea is also to better understand the BMTC operations, offer suggestions for improvement, and also give away awards and gifts to the best drivers (that the manager chooses). As Bellandur Jothige spokesperson says, “The idea is more of a gesture from our side to show how much we care and like to support them, especially in the wake of BMTC’s new initiatives around BPL and Nimbus.”
Mark your calender. It’s November 1 at 10am at HSR Layout’s BMTC Depot, opposite Agara Lake, off 19th Main.
