JOIN USThe Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation has decided to cancel 15 feeder buses, citing losses.
"There were 173 buses providing feeder services to metro stations. The decision to remove 15 from the feeder fleet has been taken due to poor response from citizens in the North-South corridor (Nagasandra-Yelachenahalli). Running empty feeder buses, including 40 Volvo buses, is causing a loss of Rs 1.5 crore per month. We will add the buses if there is a demand," a BMTC official said.
However, 84 buses on the East-West corridor (Baiyappanahalli-Mysuru Road) will continue to run, though the number of trips will be reduced. "Buses will run every half an hour instead of 15 minutes, as per the existing schedule," the official said.
According to the official, it was not feasible to run a bus when its daily revenue was less than Rs 7,000. "At present, the revenue from a feeder bus is less than Rs 5,000 per day. Except the buses on the Baiyappanahalli-ITPL route, all the buses are running in losses," the official said.
Another reason for feeder buses running empty is the lack of space to park at several metro stations. As a result of this, buses block the roads at several places.