BMTC extends service up to Channapatna

BENGALURU: In some cheer for BMTC commuters in and around Bengaluru, the transport utility has extended its service up to 40 kilometers and BMTC buses will also run to Channapatna from Friday.

Congress MLA C P Yogeshwar, former MP D K Suresh and transport officials flagged off the service on Friday. Ten air-conditioned buses have been allocated for Channapatna as well. Buses will run every half hour from morning to evening.

The corporation had earlier extended services to Ramanagara and Kanakapura in the last two months. Currently, six buses are running to Ramanagara and eight buses to Kanakapura.

Meanwhile, BMTC’s efforts to control accidents does not seem to have paid off as accident cases continue to be reported. The BMTC had said it will control accident cases and bring them to 0 per cent, but there are lapses in controlling them — officials say it’s mostly the fault of two-wheeler riders.

In the last two month, an engineering student died in an accident near Uttarahalli, and a bike rider died after a collision near Hesaraghatta. On Thursday, cars were damaged in a serial accident, yet, the BMTC administration says the accident rate has come down while accidents are still happening.

The officials say drivers are being given training, but it’s still not possible to prevent accidents. According to recent reports, more than 80 deaths have occurred in 20 months. Most of the cases involve students, pedestrians, and two-wheeler riders dying after being run over by buses.

2024: Accidents-190; Deaths-42; Injured-155
2025: Accidents-124; Deaths-38; Injured-91