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BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation)

Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is the agency that operates the public transport bus service in Bangalore, Karnataka. This is a profit making transport sector in India.

History of BMTC

In 1997 BMTC was formed as the result of a split of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, in the context of the city's expansion. The Bangalore Transport Service(BTS) became Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and the colour scheme was changed from red to a blue and white combination. BMTC remains a division of KSRTC. The profits earned by BMTC are used to cover the losses from the NWKRTC and NEKRTC divisions of KSRTC.

Types of BMTC Buses

Ordinary

  • Blue and White: the old ordinary buses with ordinary fares. Buses introduced after 2001 have pneumatic doors.
  • White and Blue: The Parisara vahini ordinary buses introduced between 2002 and 2008 with pneumatic doors.
  • Blue buses: The new ordinary bus under the JNNURM scheme with low floors and LED boards.
Suvarna
  • Silver coloured with red lining. They have Re.1 higher for first 3 stages and then are on par with the ordinary. They carry LED boards.
Pushpak
  • Launched in the late 90's. Single door bus with/without conductors. Driver acts as conductor when there is no conductor(janapriya vahini). Coffee coloured buses with fares similar to Suvarna.Generally provided on contract to the IT companies and schools.
Vajra
  • Hi-tech buses from Volvo running on routes serving the IT companies' locations and various residential routes as well. Higher fares about 1.5 to 3 times that of ordinary depending on the route. LED boards.
Vayu Vajra
  • Volvo buses to airport operated from 12 routes.
Atal Sarige
  • Low-cost buses with single seats along the windows and LED display. Have a tri-colour outside. On 1 June 2009, to celebrate their first anniversary, the Government of Karnataka and the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation sold off a pro-poor bus service called the Atal Sarige. The service aims at providing low-cost connectivity for the economically backward sections of the society to the nearest major bus station.
Marcopolo
  • AC buses as well as non-AC from Tata-Marcopolo Collaboration introduced under the JNNURM scheme.
Isuzu AC
  • A single bus running between BTM layout and BIAL on a trial basis as substitute for volvo.

BMTC Bus Fare

Fares of BMTC are considered to be the highest in the country with respect to the starting stages. However they are not very costly in the later stages. They range from Rs 2/- a km in the first stages to Rs 0.5/- per km as the distance increases.

The highlight of the BMTC is the daily pass provided at Rs.32/- per day. It can be used for travel in any bus except the air conditioned ones. It is valid up to midnight on the day of purchase and available with all conductors.

On producing ID cards (voter's card, driving license, etc), BMTC provides concession of 25% in fares to senior citizens in all types of buses. This came into effect on 1 September 2008.

Children below the age of 12 are given 50% concession.

Major BMTC Bus Stations

  1. Kempegowda Bus Station: This is right opposite the city railway station. Bus services are available to the entire city from here. BMTC has a depot here (Depot 7).
  2. K. R. Market: Another important bus station located in an area with many private bus services. Buses are available to all parts of Bengaluru besides far off Anekal and Hosur.
  3. Shivajinagar: Located in one of Bengaluru's commercial areas and about 2 kms from Bangalore Cantonment Railway Station.
  4. Shantinagar: Near the Central office of KSRTC and BMTC. Tamil Nadu-bound Deluxe buses of SETC TamilNadu and KSRTC start from here. BMTC Depot 2 and Depot 3 are located here. It is well connected to South and South East Bangalore and the Majestic and Shivajinagar areas.
  5. MCTC: Located on Mysore road. Well connected to Mysore road, Vijayanagar and Chamrajpet apart from Market and Majestic. Buses bound to Mysore and ordinary/express buses towards Tamil Nadu and Kerala start from here.
  6. Banashankari Bus Station: This is another important bus station located on the Inner ring road. It is well connected to all the areas on the inner and outer ring road. Also it is an important junction on Kanakapura road and hence is well connected to market also. 201, 205, 500, 600 are the important routes which start/pass through Banashankari. From market, all buses between 211 and 217B pass through Banashankari. A TTMC is under construction and hence the depot at Banashankari is closed.

BMTC Infrastructure

BMTC has six bus stations in Bangalore. Apart from these, it also has a number of minor terminuses. It has 34 depots spread all over Bangalore (Depot 1 closed for Shantinagar; 2 others also closed because of TTMC construction) out of which 31 are operational. BMTC aims to build 6 more depots on the city outskirts.

BMTC is also constructing modern bus stations at 10 places in its first phase. These will have places to park vehicles and a separate waiting room for airport-bound passengers with the timings displayed. As of December 2009, the station at Jayanagar 4th block has been opened.