Finding a city bus to travel at night is a harrowing experience for people who work late hours or those who arrive in the city after long-distance travel. Chethan Kumar, who works in a restaurant near Sahakarnagar said, “After finishing work around 11 p.m., I rush to Kodigehalli Gate bus stand to catch a bus that goes towards Devanahalli. At night, the frequency of buses is not good. After getting down near Bagalur Cross, I walk for 2 km to reach home. There are hardly any buses on Bagalur Main Road at night. It is extremely difficult for those who work till late night to rely on city buses.”
According to the information shared by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), the corporation operates 59 schedules from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. as night service buses. Officials claim that the ‘night out’ service of the corporation, operated between 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. (next day), caters to the demand of people travelling at night. A total of 2,615 buses are operated in this shift. The BMTC has a fleet size of 6,767 buses out of which 5,563 buses are operated daily.
When asked about complaints by passengers on the lack of adequate bus services at night, a BMTC official said, “We are providing bus services as per the demand. We do not see much demand for night services. The operational cost of running a bus is more than ₹65 per km. But in most of the services operated at night, the earnings per km is not even ₹25. This is an indication that there is no demand.” To travel in night service buses, passengers pay one-and-a-half fare.
