Attendance dips after Bangalore University cancels bus service
Students are suddenly left without adequate transport and missing first period after the varsity withdrew all 18 buses
TheBangalore University ’s ‘cost-cutting’ decision to not run buses any more for the students has drastically hit the attendance for the first period. While the frequency and routes of the BMTC services to the University leave much to be desired, the biggest problem is reaching various departments from the BU gate, which can be a walk of as far as 2 kilometres.
“We now have to leave home by 8 am to reach the college by 10 am. Despite this, we end up reaching only by 10.30 am. We end up losing attendance. Apart from this, most of the BMTC buses stop outside the gate and we may have to walk from the Mysore Road or Outer Ring Road for a few kilometres to reach the varsity. Even if we take buses which ply inside the varsity, we have to walk long distances to head towardsStatistics , Physics , Zoology , Geology , Botany , Environmental Science , Biotechnology and Microbiology departments. Are we expected to walk down two km to and fro in the rainy season as well as in peak summer?” asked a student .
There used to be 18 buses to pick up students and staff. The buses were reduced to 10 from January this year. Finally, all these buses were cancelled since July 1.
A girl student who comes from Horamavu said, “It takes more than two hours to reach. I often get stuck attraffic jams near Manyata Tech Park and Goraguntepalya. And if traffic jams were not enough, now I am forced to walk inside the campus,” she said.
Another student said, “I travel from Abbigere. I don’t have a direct bus from my place. I have to catch the Kengeri bus either from Chikkabanavara or from BEL Circle. When the BU bus was there, I used to be at BEL Circle at 9.15 am and the bus used to come before 9.30. But now, I go at 8.45 am to BEL Circle, then walk to the Ring Road bus stop to take a bus. And I need to walk two kilometres to my department inside the campus. When the college bus was there, they used to drop us near our respective departments.”
Bus service was a white elephant
BU officials said that they had to cancel the bus service as it was a white elephant. “We used to spend nearly Rs 1.01 crore on the bus service, when the revenue was not even Rs 10 lakh. We asked students to pay for the service, but they refused. Hence, we had to cancel the bus service. For the benefit of students, we will soon hold talks withTransport Minister Ramalinga Reddy to provide bus service to the university from all corners of the city,” registrar K K Seethamma said.
BMTC officials said they cancelled the casual contract buses following a request from the university. On the demand for more regular BMTC services, Chief Traffic Manager Muniveere Gowda said, “As of now, we have not received any request from BU. But we have a number of buses operating via campus as per the existing demand.”
The
“We now have to leave home by 8 am to reach the college by 10 am. Despite this, we end up reaching only by 10.30 am. We end up losing attendance. Apart from this, most of the BMTC buses stop outside the gate and we may have to walk from the Mysore Road or Outer Ring Road for a few kilometres to reach the varsity. Even if we take buses which ply inside the varsity, we have to walk long distances to head towards
The situation is particularly bad for students coming from Jayanagar, J P Nagar, BTM Layout, Domlur, Ulsoor, Indiranagar, Malleswaram, Frazer Town and the city outskirts, as they have no direct buses to the university.
There used to be 18 buses to pick up students and staff. The buses were reduced to 10 from January this year. Finally, all these buses were cancelled since July 1.
A girl student who comes from Horamavu said, “It takes more than two hours to reach. I often get stuck at
Another student said, “I travel from Abbigere. I don’t have a direct bus from my place. I have to catch the Kengeri bus either from Chikkabanavara or from BEL Circle. When the BU bus was there, I used to be at BEL Circle at 9.15 am and the bus used to come before 9.30. But now, I go at 8.45 am to BEL Circle, then walk to the Ring Road bus stop to take a bus. And I need to walk two kilometres to my department inside the campus. When the college bus was there, they used to drop us near our respective departments.”
Bus service was a white elephant
BU officials said that they had to cancel the bus service as it was a white elephant. “We used to spend nearly Rs 1.01 crore on the bus service, when the revenue was not even Rs 10 lakh. We asked students to pay for the service, but they refused. Hence, we had to cancel the bus service. For the benefit of students, we will soon hold talks with
BMTC officials said they cancelled the casual contract buses following a request from the university. On the demand for more regular BMTC services, Chief Traffic Manager Muniveere Gowda said, “As of now, we have not received any request from BU. But we have a number of buses operating via campus as per the existing demand.”
