Title - Feeder buses let down Metro commuters

BANGALORE: Namma Metro aimed to reduce vehicular traffic, but the whole purpose appears to be defeated with Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation's (BMTC) no-show with its feeder services for that last-mile connectivity for train commuters.As such, they are either forced to park their vehicles in Metro stations and then hop on to the train and return the same way. "My office is on Residency Road and I can easily take the Metro from Byappanahalli to MG Road and a bus from there. This would reduce my travel time by 30 minutes or so, but in the absence of feeder buses to reach Byappanahalli station, I end up travelling by bike the full distance," said Ofira Reuben, a Lingarajapuram resident.The onset of monsoon has added to commuters' woes. '' It takes me 40 minutes during peak hour to travel between my residence and workplace and when it rains, the roads in Fraser Town get really bad. Access to Trinity Metro station to reach my office in Indiranagar would help me cut travel time by 15-20 minutes,'' said Fraser Town resident Prachi Sibal.Ditto with Sonam Sinha, a Banaswadi resident who could have accessed the Metro at Byappanahalli station to reach her office on MG Road during monsoon. She could leave her two-wheeler behind, but zero feeder service has meant that it remains only wishful thinking and not a workable option.

RUNNING UNDER LOSS
BMTC officials said feeder services on certain routes were running under loss and did not generate enough revenue, thereby forcing them to withdraw services and instead, extend and reschedule their fleet.The transport corporation says BMRC should look at running buses to a peripheral area of 5km to attract more passengers, or enter a cost-sharing contract with BMTC to run feeder services. Giving the example of Delhi Metro, which itself runs feeder services for commuters, officials said though the Metro feeder service there is not generating enough revenue, they are able to get added revenue by selling more train tickets.BMRC MD N Sivasailam said: '' We will take up the matter with BMTC and if they find it difficult, then BMRC, in accordance with the project mandate, will definitely explore other feasible options. Presently, the project mandate for providing feeder bus services is vested with BMTC by the state government , since they are experienced in the business. There is, however, no formal communication from them so far,'' he said.