BENGALURU: With the implementation of the Shakti free travel scheme for women, the buses are expectedly overcrowded. Women passengers have been tearing down doors and windows of buses in order to get in and scuffles and arguments with bus conductors have been happening every other day.
The developments seem to have surprise effect elsewhere. The BMTC’s Volvo buses, which did not have much patronage, are now suddenly seeing an increase in passengers, mainly men, owing to the rush in regular buses. Many say they don’t mind paying a bit more and would rather avoid the rush in ordinary buses.
Earlier, it was felt that the Volvo service may take a further hit with the Shakti scheme being rolled out. But, over the last week, the Volvo, Vajra buses have seen at least 10,000 more passengers, which is about 3-5 per cent more, according to officials.
The BMTC has 470 Volvo buses in its fleet which mostly run towards Anekal, Kadugodi, Whitefield, KIA, Bannerghatta, Sarjapur and IT hotspots. In the first 21 days in June, 1,16,000 passengers travelled by Volvo buses, with the number seeing a rise last week. Among the passengers, most are men, while there are women passengers too.
Sarita, one of the passengers, said, “These buses are more comfortable and have air-conditioning. It’s very difficult to travel in ordinary buses, especially if you have a child. I don’t mind paying a bit more for this service”.
“It’s difficult to travel in the ordinary buses due to the rush of passengers. The Volvo buses are more free and calm and hence we prefer this”, said Mamatha, a young woman.
Commuters say they opting for Volvo services as the regular buses are filled with women passengers and add that they would prefer to travel peacefully by paying a bit more for the fare. On hotter days, it is difficult to travel in the packed regular buses whereas the Volvo buses have air-conditioning. Moreover, Volvo buses have fewer stops and people can reach their destination faster, they said.