BMTC tickets, live bus tracking on ride apps by Sept-end

Bengaluru: Passengers will soon be able to book BMTC tickets and track buses live on Ola, Uber and other ride-hailing apps, a top official said. The city transport corporation is also upgrading its own app. The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will launch its Namma BMTC Mobile App 2.0 by the end of next week. Ticket booking and live bus tracking on ride-hailing apps will be available by September-end, Managing Director Raghunandan Murthy said. “We are holding discussions with private ride aggregators and will roll out a common, standard agreement. Whoever abides by the conditions can use our data. We want to introduce this feature without burdening passengers,” he told DH. The upgraded BMTC app will address issues flagged by passengers and introduce new features, Murthy said. Passengers have frequently complained about problems with live tracking, which he promised would be resolved. He said every bus operating under the BMTC network would be available for live tracking. New BMTC metro feeder bus from Yelahanka NES to NellukunteThe corporation has 6,938 buses, including 1,771 electric buses, and operates around 6,200 buses daily. At a meeting with senior officials of the Transport Department, BMTC and KSRTC at Vidhana Soudha, Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh said sharing BMTC data with ride-hailing apps would help passengers access bus information for onward travel after getting off a cab. Murthy said BMTC also plans to purchase 200 diesel buses — each 7 metres long — for metro feeder and other routes. “These buses are better suited to navigating narrow lanes around metro stations. We currently operate 255 nine- and 12-metre buses as metro feeders,” he said. The 200 buses are part of the budgetary announcement to procure 1,000 buses for all four state transport corporations in Karnataka. BMTC is awaiting government approval to float the tender, and the procurement process is expected to be completed within six months, Murthy said. The metro feeder network will cover all metro stations, including the six on the upcoming Pink Line along Bannerghatta Road. “We are conducting a survey with BMRCL and the traffic police to identify feeder routes connecting stations on the Pink, Green and Yellow lines,” he added. Separately, Suresh directed BMTC to operate 200 mini AC buses within a 5-km radius of all metro stations out of the 4,500 electric buses being procured under the PM E-Drive scheme. He also directed officials to increase AC bus services to technology companies to encourage employees to reduce their dependence on private vehicles. Officials have been asked to hold discussions with the companies, he said.Suresh also directed officials to take measures to prevent revenue leakage in BMTC and other RTCs, and curb unnecessary expenditure. 

Source: Deccan Herald