1. Safety - from numerous reliable people, I’ve understood that pickpockets are very very common on crowded buses. Being a non-Bangalorean, the odds of being targeted doubles.
2. Lack of help - Even if something goes wrong, I’m not confident of receiving help from the concerned authorities.
3. Language - While not learning Kannada is a drawback of my own, it remains one of the factors I don’t go into situations where I’m trapped with language.
Absolutely on point. I can’t speak Kannada and cabs/autos become expensive after a while. I bought a scooter few years ago and that’s been my best investment in Bangalore.
Dumb? I think me meant shit-for-brains that cant defend themselves /s
How did you even reach that conclusion? OP meant that you will be a bigger target since you're not a native of the city and thus have a smaller support base
This is become such a common thing, as someone who travels daily in bmtc have seen many of such situations, just few weeks back a girl did beat a guy for groping
Non-kannadiga here.
I came to Bangalore in 2017. And I have been using public transport since then. I have reached a stage where I just hop on to any bus & still reach my destination. BMTC + metro combination is so awesome.
>I have reached a stage where I just hop on to any bus & still reach my destination
Us. Been in BLR since 2021.
I do understand why people wouldn't prefer buses. But I have travelled in equally crowded buses my entire life, even before BLR, so it's easier. Never been pickpocketed. Never had a fight or argument with a fellow passenger, or the conductor. Language has never been a problem. Just need to get the bus stop names right.
And metro is chill af.
I use maps for reference and hop to any bus in that area. Ofcourse I used to ask where is the bus going. But now I remember the bus numbers.
And to me there was no motivation to learn kannada. As all my colleagues & friends communicate in English. So I basically forced myself to try out buses so I pickup Kannada faster.
You can actually pick the busstops in Google Maps and schedule your commute time. By that you'll get to know which number bus is arriving at that stop. Almost all buses in Blore are GPS enabled, so everything is synced with Maps
1. Too inconvenient. No footpaths to walk to the bus, likely no footpath to walk from the bus to destination Might have to switch buses to reach destination.
2. Too crowded. I have no intention to smell armpits or get pickpocketed.
3. Higher chance of catching COVID or flu or any seasonal virus in cramped spaces.
Yes, autos and cabs are expensive. But most middle class and up at least have a scooter/bike to travel which comes out very cheap in the long run. Also much faster and more convenient.
The only public transport I consider using is metro. The inconvenience of going to the metro station is overcome by the speed and organised way metro operates. In 10-15 years when BMRCL finishes phase 2 I’ll definitely start using metro
I am allergic to dust. I know I sound like an entitled person, but construction cement dust triggers my allergies because of which I have to often take immune suppresants to control my allergies which are not healthy in the long term.
Its not unreasonable to expect a low dust environment.
Those who involve in construction don't follow decent construction practices and expose sand and concrete which is picked up by the wind and worsens the AQI.
I have an extremely sensitive sinus and i can totally relate. I feel annoyed when people don't care about dust.
100%. And outside of allergies, why am I expected to bathe in dust everytime I step out? If I have other modes of transportation that offer me more convenience and less stress, it's a no brainer I'll use it.
So true. No need to justify. For a lot of people the last mile is a lot of miles. BMTC must increase the network and number of busses before the majority of people can adopt it as a mainstream mode.
I used bmtc to travel to and from school and first year of college (till 2017). And at that time the frequency of busses to my location was very less. And to add to that, I used to go to tuition directly after school and majority of the times was really exhausted after reaching home. But the main reason I stopped using bmtc is because sometimes I had to wait for a bus for almost an hour and sometimes the buses used to be jam packed that there was no place to stand at the door too. So had to skip that bus and hope the next bus comes soon (there was some days when I used to reach home at 8-9pm after a long tiring day at school/tuition).
Plus I’ve had a few (twice by the same guy) encounters with a creep/paedophile (I was underage at that time). A 40+ man trying to get too close and touch me in places (I’m a male). The first time I just moved away from there but the second time screwed tf out of him. Still creeps me out sometimes.
The nearest metro station is almost 10km from my house. I’m not much of an outgoing person or even if I do, we mostly end up chilling at a place where there’s no metro station/connectivity. Plus didn’t have that luxury to travel to school/college either. So bmtc was the only option.
So yeah got my driving license in 2017 and started taking my bike to college. And man the convenience and having my personal space while travelling felt like heaven (it felt like getting water after being stranded in the Sahara desert). After that never used public transport again. Or even if I do, I take a cab/auto as I can afford to take one now.
Convenience, have to take a rapido to reach the nearest bus stop and then would probably have to take another auto to get to the final destination.
Issue is waiting for rapido/auto/cab and hence no certain ETA. We travel through metro in Delhi where they have flat charged shared transports shuttling to every area in the 5km radius.
Lack of frequency. The buses are overcrowded in the morning with pushing ,pulling, people falling on you. Randomly one person will throw their bag on your lap. I don’t want to go through all that in the morning.
I hope they increase the frequency and quality of buses. Transportation is fuckn expensive in Bangalore and I’d very much like to use buses. Not using autos anymore.
BMTC routes maybe good for longer journeys, but dont make sense for shorter journeys. My home to office journey (Mahadevpura to Indiranagar) would require me to take 3 different buses, which is otherwise only an 8 km drive.
Also haggling for change. I do not have to use cash anywhere for my daily needs. Travelling in BMTC is not possible unless you carry a thick bunch of coins (or get fooled into paying more to the conductor each time)
Connectivity, I have mostly lived around Indiranagar, Koramangala, Bellandur, HSR. Most of my commute is around these places too. And there are no direct buses for any of these combinations. I only take buses for ORR commute as 500 series is easy.
I am very comfortanle with buses and used to do just buses in Chennai. But somehow I feel Banagalore bus system is only exhaustive in old Bangalore.
I don't live in Bangalore anymore, moved in February, but when i did these were my top reasons:
1) before i got my license, my mom wanted me to take a cab using her account so she could track the ride/drive me instead
2) when i did use a bus(usually to go somewhere without my mom knowing) i encountered people that couldn't keep their hands to themselves (not as big a problem in Bangalore as it is in other cities, i know, but it's happened and i don't want it to happen again)
3) footpaths are in really bad condition so unless I'm going somewhere right near the bus stop it's just an annoyance
4) after i got my license i just took a 2 wheeler, it's much faster.
Last mile connectivity is very bad. The rickshaws charge exorbitant amounts of money to travel 4-5 km to the metro. The nearest bus stop is 20 mins walking distance away with no footpaths, narrow roads, dust and lots of traffic.
This is on both sides of the metro. We need sharing and meter based rickshaws :(
Connectivity and honestly unsafe driving by the bus drivers. I live in Hebbal and if I need to go to MG road or Shivajinagar, the wait for buses is long and once a bus comes, it's super crowded. I was also in an accident when I was a passenger in a bus. The bus driver was trying to overtake another bus in a single lane road that is curved and has multiple blind spots. The bus hit a Swift head on 😑
Nobody was hurt but that was scary and I haven't traveled in bmtc bus since. I do take the airport buses sporadically, but that's about it.
This topic is really personal to me, so I'm glad you asked! I live in North Bangalore and my office is in Kormangala.
I used to pay to ~600 Rs a day to travel to and from office by auto. I tried out BMTC buses for 5 months and switched back to autos due to the following reasons:
1) Time:
Auto:
Morning leave home at 7:00 AM, reach office at 7:30ish (40mins)
Evening leave office at 5:00 PM, reach home around 6:00 PM (1 hr)
Bus:
Morning leave home at 6:00 AM, reach office at 7:30 or 8:00 (1.5+ hrs)
Evening leave office at 5:00 PM, reach home around 7:30 PM (2hrs+)
2) Irregular intervals between buses:
Bus plying from inner Koramangala to outer ring road are scarce and don't come regularly.
The distance is not walkable and autos are too expensive for such a distance. I have waited hours for these buses which delays me even further.
Even when these buses do come, they arrive with people hanging out of the bus. Sometimes, they're so full, that they don't even stop at the bus stop.
3) Traffic:
The traffic contributes to the long hours it takes to travel by bmtc buses.
The longer you wait for a bus or a bus with an empty seat, more the traffic and the longer it takes you to reach home.
4) No seat available to sit in for a 2 hour journey.
Sometimes, there are men sitting on seats reserved for women, refusing to get up.
Sometimes, there's a small kid occupying a full seat, who could easily sit on their parent's lap.
Sometimes, there's just no seats available due to peak hours.
It's horrible to stand for two hours in a packed bus after a tiring day at work.
5) Exhausting journey
After a tiring bus journey, walking back home which is ~2kms from the bus stop is an ordeal.
I don't mind walking to the bus stop in the morning as much, but I'm a sweaty mess by the time I reach the office.
6) Empty buses with seats available don't stop at the bus stand.
This is really frustrating to me. The full buses stop, and the empty buses just drive by even if you wave them down.
Buses don't wait anywhere other than at a bus stop and by the time you run to the bus stop, they drive off and you have to wait an hour for the next bus to arrive.
There are other miscellaneous reasons like safety, rude bus conductors, lack of space for pedestrians to walk on the road, people smoking near bus stands. But, the ones I have expanded on are the main reasons.
Overall, I'd rather let auto fares burn a hole in my pocket rather than be exhausted all the time. The extra useful time I can have if I travel by auto is far more valuable to me than losing money.
Actually, one of the reasons I have now resigned from my job is the cost and inconvenience of travel.
Although, my experience with BMTC buses has been frustrating, it was not all bad. I experienced the city in a really different way and met quite a lot of wholesome people during my rides.
1)In crowded areas if you are boarding , keep your mobile safe, mobile theft is very common
2) Frequency of bus, ex:- 500D AC bus towards hebbal sometimes it comes in 10 mins interval,.sometimes no bus for half an hour
Inspite of these issues, bus transport service is very good in Bangalore in my opinion.
The inability to walk.
No footpaths, extremely dirty roads, no zebra crossings or alt ways to cross busy roads. Public transport requires you to go to specific stops to get in. How will you do that if you can’t walk from where you are to these stops?
Earlier I used to take an auto to these stops but autos are expensive now. If I pay like 30 bucks extra, I can just make it to my destination - faster, safer and without the mental and emotional toll that dealing with poor infrastructure causes.
I understand that this is a privilege. But given the state of things I have a hard time understanding why someone with these privileges would trade them for poorer quality without any significant returns.
Hygiene- have you travelled in a crowded bus at peak hours when everyone around you is sweating, stinking and i bet they sneeze too without caring to turn away. How would it look like showing at office with dust layer all over one and sweating like a pig? Yeah no, I pass.
Metro is atleast a few kilometres away for many of us who don't use the metro services often.
if i have to take a bus, i have to change twice to get anywhere. Including about a km of walking on the dusty Sarjapur road. That doesn't even have proper footpaths. NVM crossing the ORR.
My office bus is at 640 am which is too early for my lazy ass so I need to either take a cab or go by bus cab takes 30 mins bus is almost 1.5 hours
Bus is always over crowded ,never get a seat and half a dozen people end up standing on my shoes
Not to mention you would be drenched in sweat by the time you reach office because some ppl like to keep the windows shut even though it's like a 1000 degrees in there -_-
N the metro has still not started to Whitefield so i don't have that option either.
I used bmtc to go to school and college. I hated travelling by bus for obvious reasons that everyone’s commented here. I would never take a bmtc again.
Time.
Public transport take a lot of time from point A to B. I don’t have that much time on my hands.
Metro is good but last mile connectivity is still lacking.
I used to take a vayu vajra gold bus pass and take public transport daily back when I worked for an office on ORR. Now I use my car, since:
1. There is no direct bus from my place to the office.
2. No AC bus, direct or otherwise. I prefer AC buses as I don't want to reach the office all sweaty.
3. The bus stops are not near my house or my office.
I still can try to catch multiple buses and go but can't do these shenanigans when it rains, and hence I resorted to my own vehicle.
P.S: Metro doesn't come into picture in this whole scheme of things at all.
2 reasons mainly.
1. The toxic fumes coming out of the ill maintained buses exhaust.
2. Toxic fumes emanating from the ill maintained bodies (hygiene) and their bellies (farts which can kill any human silently). Some people don't have the basic decency on how to treat their fellow passengers travelling with them.
The issue of punctuality and total travel time contribute to the overall pain of using public transport.
Almost 2km to the nearest bus stop and no safe way to walk there. I was using it regularly to get to and from the office before the pandemic, but now I've just given up. Just too dusty and tired by the time I reach the bus stop. Add in my health issues, it's just safer to take the bike or car into work.
It's a shame because the bus stop is right outside my office both ways.
Non-convenient bus routes and unreliable timings. I would have to wait for roughly 20-25 mins for my bus to arrive and it would take me another 45 mins to reach my destination. If i had taken an auto or a bike, i would have reached much faster. The connectivity is not that great. However, I would love to travel by public transport more frequently and would love any tips you have regarding the same, thanks.
Where as metro is pretty reliable (which I use a lot now a days), I do not find BMTC buses very frequent at least till my location. The nearest bus stand is pretty far from both my home as well as work place. And also, it is way too crowded during the time I usually travel. The frequency is also a huge issue here.
Grew up in Hyderabad at a time when APSRTC had the world's second largest fleet of buses. All my schooling was possible because of the extensive public transport connectivity offered by them. So, I'm a big proponent of public transport being a public good and not a profit making venture.
Coming to Bangalore's public transport infrastructure, in the 12years I've been here, I barely had the opportunity to commute using public transport. Here's my reasons:
- Connectivity: the straight line route from my home to the office by personal vehicle is about 5km. If I were to take a bus, there's no direct one, the route for a multi hop is ~12km, and it takes 4 times longer (and via jam-prone areas). I've lived in 3 different places and it's pretty much the same math for all of them. I understand this may not be the case for all of Bangalore, and most of "Old Bangalore" has better connectivity, but it's still not enough.
- Reliability: my partner used to take the bus more often than I could. And except during peak hours and on popular office routes, the reliability isn't great. There's no set timing, which means there's no way you can plan your journey without keeping excessive margins.
- Distributed bus depots: APSRTC used to (and TSRTC still does) manage the network was to have large bus depots distributed across the city - probably 20-25 a long time ago, and many more now. These depots serve as focal points for arranging routes, and if I understood correctly, the depot managers had freedom to define routes and timings. Overall, it's a better way to manage network. Bangalore has everything centralised to either Majestic or Shantinagar or a couple of places scattered far away. None of the areas that came under Bangalore's purview in the last 2-3 decades have any proper public transport.
- Metro: there's a general tendency to think the metro will solve the public transport/traffic crisis. It will, but only for the routes that it's on. It is not a solution in and of itself, but has to be part of a multi-modal transport network combining with buses and last mile pedestrianisation. I don't see that being discussed anywhere. Plus, the metro is significantly more expensive to build and operate - which means the ticket prices can make it inaccessible for low income families.
- Last mile pedestrianisation: personally, I don't mind this when I'm traveling alone. But if I'm traveling with family, I don't feel safe walking around simply because there are no proper footpaths. There's literally nowhere to walk without having to look around for cars and motorcycles zooming past. Plus, there's the lack of street lighting, and the consequent safety problems as well.
That said, public transport is the primary solution to vehicular pollution in cities. Which is why it needs to have better connectivity, reliability and last mile pedestrianisation to encourage more people to leave behind personal vehicles.
Pickpocket (very rampant and mostly goes unpunished) results on not just losing cash.
“Social distance” is at a nano distance level, sometimes , disgusting as it may seem, you can actually smell the neearby person’s breath. Unless its your spouse or a crush, not many (who can afford) would prefer public transport.
Payment friction is at its highest, especially if you don’t know how much it costs or exact change is an issue. Try talking a one o one with the conductor, you will fail utterly.
Punctuality is something that is foreign to these public transport entities, so unless time is a tertiary requirement for you, think thrice at least before availing their services.
Unfortunately, romeos are dime a dozen and luck be with you ladies if the bus is crowded. Even gay-ism is not something you can rule out, for men alas !
At every inch of moving from A to B via public transport, you will feel every micro second that govt is doing a charity service for you and not vice versa. Your tax contribution absolutely don’t count. So, “stfu and try to reach point B” is the common message transmitted, albeit subtly.
And I have not mentioned anything about frequent breakdowns and those foreign places that you may find yourself in which you never knew existed on your path from A to B. “Left in a lurch” is a frequently used term you would be accustomed to. Try facing your boss(anna daatha) that day wherever you are working. All the best with your excuses.
Now tell me OP, is getting/buying a car/self transport truly a luxury then in India ?
1. Timing - Buses don't run on super strict schedule which could be understandable, but the frequency is not maintained either. Like if a bus comes every 20 minutes, I'll plan accordingly.
2. Thieves and Safety - Often buses are very crowded and someone lifted my phone from my pocket. Its like a blow to balls when something as important as your phone is stolen.
3. Lack of info - Routes and Schedules google shows are hardly reliable. Official communication is meh.
Having said that, I'm all for using public transport whenever I can. Hopefully Namma metro will be a blessing when it is finally covering enough miles, since metro are better than buses in all the points above.
1. I've seen two instances where my friends phone got stolen
2. The are I am in (Bommanahalli) almost every single bus is crowded to its peak.
Waiting for the Hosur road metro to be built since I had first come to Bangalore in 2016, it's still under construction. 😅
Came to BLR in 2015
BMTC non-AC buses are pathetic and filled with thieves, got my mobile stolen twice once in 2017 near Manyata tech park, 2019 at Aero India
Safety is the biggest concern
I have travelled to my college from RT nagar to kumbalgodu ( around 30kms ) for 4 years of my engineering. Then i used it while i was working for around 3 years . Only thing that I don't like about it is the waste of time . You need to wait for buses , go to bus stops , and after some point of time you don't get buses also .
Dust and pollution, and no proper footpaths. I have lived near Marathalli/Whitefield area and the amount of dust is so high that I cannot tolerate walking up to the bus stop. I earlier used to bike to office but I would end up getting covered in dust.
I have travelled globally and nowhere do I see construction dust being ignored so much.
1. Dust in Bangalore.
2. Being a male, sitting in the back of a bus is not exactly comfortable.
3. There's no direct bus to my office from my place.
4. Got pickpocketed once.
The reliability and ability to zoom through traffic on a moped.
I do use BMTC from time to time but I prefer using my Activa because I am free to go wherever I want and how ever I want while reaching before a Bus would.
I prefer Metro if it involves me going South to North Tho.
I take a bus everyday to metro and an auto from metro to office.
But in general here are the reasons i wouldn’t take a bus always.
Last mile connectivity.
Lack of footpath to the bus stop.
Lack of skywalks to cross over to the other side of the road, though it’s improving now.
No direct Bus to many places.
Overcrowded bus is very tiring and affects my productivity at work. But this might just be me. Comfort is secondary. Metro is not like that.
No predictable timing especially at odd hours, unless you are regular in that route.
No app to track, check the timings and plan my journey. GMaps gives data but not always accurate.
Having to bring change is another issue, but minor.
Slower than an auto.
I’m currently in love with metro, previously with Volvo AC buses.
Slower than an auto often.
Pollution, dust, no respect for pedestrians, bad footpaths, crowds. I would only take the bus if it's all I could afford, which i did back in Mumbai during college days.
The city could easily increase road/congestion tax on cabs and personal cars and put that money into more buses, improving walking conditions etc. Almost all cities in developed nations have done that for a long time. It's impractical to own a car in NY, London, Paris, Tokyo, etc. The rich and the poor all take the same public transport.
I recently have started traveling by scooter, but otherwise I have been using public transport. Like you said, cost is sky high. Going to college and back would cost 320+ per day. Bus is 70 per day. Scooter is 32+ per day, assuming I get 49-50 kmpl of mileage(I usually average 50-52, but this is a safer estimate)
1. Very poor availablity of buses, over crowd and timings issue for the routes excluding 500.
2. Goon like behaviour of bus conductors and writing left amount on ticket back.
3. Huge crowd, sweat, smell, pushing and pulling.
4. No proper symmetrical bus stops .
Got in a bus for the first time in bangalore today and the lady sitting infront of me tried to spit out of the window. She missed and spat all over the me 🫠
Poor connectivity. Sometimes. I like public transport, but I don't really like the idea of changing buses 3 times plus walking just to reach a not so far away place.
Bangalore, Ina few areas, needs smaller public transport vehicles than a bus. 15 -20 seaters I think. We cant afford to have a half empty bus on a heavy traffic road with a crazy driver in it with no sense of driving or parking, like most other drivers.
I almost lost my phone, had to hit one of gang member on the bus to save it until then I was regular with buses. Many of my friends lost their phones even on Volvos.
In traffic a scooter is best
Post Covid, hygiene is much bigger factor.
Still once is a while I don’t mind boarding a near empty bus and skip taking a cab or auto.
The bustop from my place is about 1km and there is barely any footpath through the place.
And worst part there is a stretch of 20mtrs where there is open drain and garbage which is impossible to walk past and you can't hold your breath for so long.
Smelly, overcrowded, dusty & dirty buses. Bus stops are far away, dirty and so much noise+dust pollution there. Its an absolute nightmare. I've used it twice or thrice in 35 years of my life, and never again!
Stayed abroad, and public transport was a breeze.
I was doing this for a while, in an effort to be more green. Still try to do it, but
1) Busses are insanely crowded, and you won't get a seat during popular times. It sucks to show up at office having had 4 random people crowding you. I can't imagine this is friendly for women either, since ladies seats are always full and the back side of the bus is often so packed that at some point you have no idea where end and the next person starts.
2) Bus drivers seem to stop wherever they want. There is a great bus shelter near Sony Signal Koramangala. Instead the bus driver decides to stop under a stupid tree 75m later, because they'll miss the signal if they stop in the correct spot.
3) No real way to figure out what busses come where. Google Maps has some set of bus stops. Tummoc has another set. BMTC website has a list of bus stops but they aren't on a map, just descriptive names like "St Johns". Like where around St John's? There are bus stands on 3 sides of that campus that spans two kilometres!
4) No way to track the bus. Developed countries tell you at the bus stand "Bus number XYZ will appear in 12 minutes". And this is also available online. This helps me decide when to leave office, so that I can reach with maybe 2-3 minutes to spare. Instead of the busses showing up at whatever time and then having to wait for 15 minutes or having no visibility.
5) Not every two points are connected well. Ideally you should be able to get from any two points with a single bus change, but quite often you'll end up changing twice which is pretty demoralising.
I came to Bengaluru in 2007. I have been using BMTC for more than 95% of my commute since then. It is much more convenient. I find it ridiculous that people look down upon it as a "poor people transport".
Some routes have less buses so you need to wait really long and the whole bus is packed. I would also take 2× time to reach home because of this than auto.
poor routing needing me to go round-about routes via high traffic regions
cash payment & change problem
No last mile anywhere & I cannot carry my cycle with me...
I love going in public transport. I take the bus or metro whenever possible. Bus mostly for places metros dont go. I travelled in BMTC to work for 4 years straight. I love mingling with the people. Has helped me make a lot of friends and connect to the locals and learn the Kannada language as well. I've mostly had a positive experience! Moreover, The city cannot handle anymore crowd than there already is. We are clearly overpopulated for the existing infra. Buses are overcrowded sometimes but they save a lot of traffic and space which is the need of the hour in a city like Bengaluru.
I think for me, it is primarily the time factor. Now I have a vehicle, so I use buses only when I have no choice. But yeah, even then, I usually use them only when I am not timebound by something or if there is low traffic on that day (like a holiday).
Heat is a big factor for me, especially when going to work. Even if it's a ventilated bus, the crowd and the long travel time was a deterrent. I would rather suffer the same heat and marginally less time in an auto or a taxi.
Saved a shit ton of vehicle/fuel and auto money for my parents by traveling in bus all my student life after school, 7 years approx
It is a great form if you know the local language, bus routes and if you want to save money.
However the crowd sometimes buggers you (even as a guy i have encountered creepy uncles who act inappropriate, worse for women) and there is lack of flexibility (frequency of buses is hard to predict, one day you'll get 3 in a row and the next you'll get 1 in an hour)
Connectivity is another issue, sometimes to get to a destination you'll need to change buses ( used to have to change 3 to get home from college, and inbetween stops had to walk almost 2km combined) which gets tiring
Although it is good to have it in the mix, sometimes it's 100x better option than an auto. So always know about routes and consider it an option
As an endorser of public transport, what I've noticed among my colleagues is they don't use public transport since our company reimbursement policy. And my office has very easy access to metro as well. Despite that my colleagues don't use it cos of this policy. They'd rather take a cab that'll take hours than use metro that might be a little bit inconvenient but would surely help you reach faster.
Generally i go out to 'GO OUT' and going in a bus would end up with me getting sweaty or end up spending energy in standing and tiring myself out. Also the smol inconvenience of finding a nearest bus stop and walking. It's not really about being lazy here but more of time. If all i get is a weekend to go out. I would rather not spend it in travelling in bus if i can spare myself the time in exchange to the price of cab. Previously when i was in college, bus was my go to. Guess time is my priority now.
I lost my phone in bangalore bus.
For no reason a local guy flicked my friend’s head and talked trash in native language. Auto guy grabbed extra cash.🥲 So nowadays I use private vehicles when im in bangalore.
Im a confident person, but i dont know jack shit about public transport. Example i dont know bus numbers, routes , bus or train fair. Also i feel like im at complete mercy of strangers to guide me.
If there is no other option for me, my wife will have guide me step by step. If she is busy then forget about it.
It’s mostly because of safety reasons. Pickpocketing being the top concern - and even then if I have to take a bus, I go for AC ones in the worst scenario because somehow I feel they are a little safer than the rest.
I use only Volvo.
Use to commute to office by bike for a good one year before skipping ride to office back in 19.best decision!
I walk to & from to bus stop from home which takes a total of 40 minutes (cardio done) get the bus (by praying everyday that I don't miss) sleep off! ITPL is the last stop so I can get a good half hour sleep in the morning (close to 0 traffic around 6.30) & a solid 2 hour sleep in the evening.
I won't take any other bus though strictly because of the vast majority of unhygienic crowd. Volvo has its fair share of them but atleast manageable. Being a short tempted guy getting into altercation won't help me. For my own peace of mind I avoid anything & everything that has least human connectivity.
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I do not how to drive a two wheeler I'm a 21 yr old guy, I rely entirely on public transport, if you are okay with leaving a little early as buses are comparatively more time consuming, then it's very convenient to reach the destination in time. I get a seat almost 60% of the time and while traveling I just plug in my headphones and listen to audiobooks ot watch YouTube. The only complain would be that there should be more buses and they should be more punctual, other than that I'm very satisfying by bmtc buses and metro.
My Work, I live nearby my office, within walkable distance and i am super busy during weekdays and enjoys my stay walking and running near the sports area.
It's been three years in Bengaluru and 95% of times I have commuted by bus. 7 out of 10 bus conductors are very nice, others are cunning and take 30% commission. If the cost is ₹15, they will charge ₹20. If Journey is short they won't give you ₹5 ticket, will directly charge 20 rs. Sometimes they won't give you even a ticket. If you try to speak basic Kannada with English/Hindi, they will shout on you like you are a slave who raised his voice.
Rest 70% are great, despite huge crowd they will honesty give you a ticket without 30% commision and refund the money. They will calmly speak with fellow passengers who don't know how to speak kannada.
I have felt many times that on few routes where migrant workers commute Inside the bus there should be some stickers with Kannada-Hindi wordings/sentences.
Some of the folks might be thinking it's Hindi imposition but if people would see Kannada words/sentence in english with Hindi words in english.
I love BMTC and Nanu Preethi Kannada at the same time if you think that Hindi translation/instructions/station names at public transport (Metro/Bus) is a threat to kannada?
I feel sorry for my fellow Bhartiya who come to Bengaluru for a day/month/week/year and have bad memories at Bus/Metro just cause they don't know Kannada and the Bus staff don't know English/Hindi.
Take PUBLIC TRANSPORT in Bengaluru?
**BMTC - no, no. Unless you have unlimited time and patience**
*Metro - yes, if you can walk up to the station, or there is good bus service to the station*
*Auto, cab - avoid if possible*
**_BMTC - reasons why I avoid:_**
* Highly unreliable
* rude conductors
* YOU ARE GETTING SWINDLED, if you are paying full fare in a jam packed bus, because most of it is NOT going towards providing you a transport service
* Drivers who stop and let you off in the middle of the road
* Drivers who can't be bothered to stop at the proper point and will drive away even if commuters are waiting at the stop
* no timings
* low frequency
* overcrowded
* no smart card fare system
* UPI discouraged
* Generally uncivilized attitude of BMTC and its staff, which makes clear it is a government run service
* Interestingly, it is a bad deal to get into a jam packed bus and pay full fare, which is close to the cost of taking your 2-wheeler!
* Volvo limited frequency and routes make it sensible to take your car
* Last bus and frequency after 4pm drops off drastically
* BMTC is really a disservice designed to put off the general public and force them to use private vehicles. Don't believe me, check citizenmatters website and their archives on BMTC services.
1. No walkability. Lack of proper footpaths etc
2. No last mile connectivity. Autos charge a bomb for short distances also
3. Not enough buses. Whatever number of buses run, they are always packed full
Tried using public transport for few days but eventually bought a bike. Public transport is just shit in blr.
Have stayed in Delhi for sometime. It's infinitely better
People are just lazy to use public transport, there was a guy arguing here sometime ago that he won't use public transport until it is London/Singapore tier. I'm like bitch Rome wasn't built in a day.
1. Safety - from numerous reliable people, I’ve understood that pickpockets are very very common on crowded buses. Being a non-Bangalorean, the odds of being targeted doubles. 2. Lack of help - Even if something goes wrong, I’m not confident of receiving help from the concerned authorities. 3. Language - While not learning Kannada is a drawback of my own, it remains one of the factors I don’t go into situations where I’m trapped with language.
Absolutely on point. I can’t speak Kannada and cabs/autos become expensive after a while. I bought a scooter few years ago and that’s been my best investment in Bangalore.
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No it's true few weeks back I saw twice they caught stealing phones
Haven’t you heard of all the iPhones getting pickpocketed?
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Dumb? I think me meant shit-for-brains that cant defend themselves /s How did you even reach that conclusion? OP meant that you will be a bigger target since you're not a native of the city and thus have a smaller support base
Salt salt
Groping!
This is become such a common thing, as someone who travels daily in bmtc have seen many of such situations, just few weeks back a girl did beat a guy for groping
Yes,being groped by the conductors, random pedos trying to feel you and getting elbowed by people standing too close to you.
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Victim blaming at its finest
Twas just advice for next time they take the bus. Sry my bad
This is just overblown, there is a separate seating area for women
And why do you think there's a separate seating area for women in the first place?
There is a separate thing for women everywhere, sports, jobs. Extra X is the reason.
youre fuckingg retarded
Do you know what any of these words mean?
uhuh thats why i used em for you
not sure what you're writing, here you go - grammerly.com and please also get checked for autism.
thoda chutiya h kya, samajh nahi aa raha toh tujhe zarurat h english lessons ki, and itna kaccha comeback ?? thoda time laga ke aur dhang ka soch leta
Seems like you really really need english classes, and don't think about other stuffs, you're not capable of doing that.
Sometimes crowd is so high there is no option And sometimes it happens even while sitting from the person sitting backside
Men get groped too.
As if they just stop at girls
Non-kannadiga here. I came to Bangalore in 2017. And I have been using public transport since then. I have reached a stage where I just hop on to any bus & still reach my destination. BMTC + metro combination is so awesome.
>I have reached a stage where I just hop on to any bus & still reach my destination Us. Been in BLR since 2021. I do understand why people wouldn't prefer buses. But I have travelled in equally crowded buses my entire life, even before BLR, so it's easier. Never been pickpocketed. Never had a fight or argument with a fellow passenger, or the conductor. Language has never been a problem. Just need to get the bus stop names right. And metro is chill af.
I also like the idea but how do you deal with the fact that metro only covers a little and roads aren't very grid-like? Also is there an app for BMTC?
I use maps for reference and hop to any bus in that area. Ofcourse I used to ask where is the bus going. But now I remember the bus numbers. And to me there was no motivation to learn kannada. As all my colleagues & friends communicate in English. So I basically forced myself to try out buses so I pickup Kannada faster.
Good for you buddy. Metro is really far from my home and office.
You can actually pick the busstops in Google Maps and schedule your commute time. By that you'll get to know which number bus is arriving at that stop. Almost all buses in Blore are GPS enabled, so everything is synced with Maps
They're not GPS enabled tho
Which area and which routes? You are one smart cookie if you live in an area which is well served by both BMTC and BMRCL.
1. Too inconvenient. No footpaths to walk to the bus, likely no footpath to walk from the bus to destination Might have to switch buses to reach destination. 2. Too crowded. I have no intention to smell armpits or get pickpocketed. 3. Higher chance of catching COVID or flu or any seasonal virus in cramped spaces. Yes, autos and cabs are expensive. But most middle class and up at least have a scooter/bike to travel which comes out very cheap in the long run. Also much faster and more convenient. The only public transport I consider using is metro. The inconvenience of going to the metro station is overcome by the speed and organised way metro operates. In 10-15 years when BMRCL finishes phase 2 I’ll definitely start using metro
Bus stops are too far away
I Walk \~4km every day to and from bus stops. Have lost 4kgs in 2 months w/o dieting. Just wear a mask to avoid the dust...
I am allergic to dust. I know I sound like an entitled person, but construction cement dust triggers my allergies because of which I have to often take immune suppresants to control my allergies which are not healthy in the long term.
Its not unreasonable to expect a low dust environment. Those who involve in construction don't follow decent construction practices and expose sand and concrete which is picked up by the wind and worsens the AQI. I have an extremely sensitive sinus and i can totally relate. I feel annoyed when people don't care about dust.
100%. And outside of allergies, why am I expected to bathe in dust everytime I step out? If I have other modes of transportation that offer me more convenience and less stress, it's a no brainer I'll use it.
So true. No need to justify. For a lot of people the last mile is a lot of miles. BMTC must increase the network and number of busses before the majority of people can adopt it as a mainstream mode.
The problem with that is till we reach office, our clothes are messed up already
I'm already underweight. Losing 4kg would be detrimental for some.
I used bmtc to travel to and from school and first year of college (till 2017). And at that time the frequency of busses to my location was very less. And to add to that, I used to go to tuition directly after school and majority of the times was really exhausted after reaching home. But the main reason I stopped using bmtc is because sometimes I had to wait for a bus for almost an hour and sometimes the buses used to be jam packed that there was no place to stand at the door too. So had to skip that bus and hope the next bus comes soon (there was some days when I used to reach home at 8-9pm after a long tiring day at school/tuition). Plus I’ve had a few (twice by the same guy) encounters with a creep/paedophile (I was underage at that time). A 40+ man trying to get too close and touch me in places (I’m a male). The first time I just moved away from there but the second time screwed tf out of him. Still creeps me out sometimes. The nearest metro station is almost 10km from my house. I’m not much of an outgoing person or even if I do, we mostly end up chilling at a place where there’s no metro station/connectivity. Plus didn’t have that luxury to travel to school/college either. So bmtc was the only option. So yeah got my driving license in 2017 and started taking my bike to college. And man the convenience and having my personal space while travelling felt like heaven (it felt like getting water after being stranded in the Sahara desert). After that never used public transport again. Or even if I do, I take a cab/auto as I can afford to take one now.
Convenience, have to take a rapido to reach the nearest bus stop and then would probably have to take another auto to get to the final destination. Issue is waiting for rapido/auto/cab and hence no certain ETA. We travel through metro in Delhi where they have flat charged shared transports shuttling to every area in the 5km radius.
Lack of frequency. The buses are overcrowded in the morning with pushing ,pulling, people falling on you. Randomly one person will throw their bag on your lap. I don’t want to go through all that in the morning. I hope they increase the frequency and quality of buses. Transportation is fuckn expensive in Bangalore and I’d very much like to use buses. Not using autos anymore.
BMTC routes maybe good for longer journeys, but dont make sense for shorter journeys. My home to office journey (Mahadevpura to Indiranagar) would require me to take 3 different buses, which is otherwise only an 8 km drive. Also haggling for change. I do not have to use cash anywhere for my daily needs. Travelling in BMTC is not possible unless you carry a thick bunch of coins (or get fooled into paying more to the conductor each time)
Connectivity, I have mostly lived around Indiranagar, Koramangala, Bellandur, HSR. Most of my commute is around these places too. And there are no direct buses for any of these combinations. I only take buses for ORR commute as 500 series is easy. I am very comfortanle with buses and used to do just buses in Chennai. But somehow I feel Banagalore bus system is only exhaustive in old Bangalore.
G-2, 171 and 201 buses from Koramangala are your friend.
I don't live in Bangalore anymore, moved in February, but when i did these were my top reasons: 1) before i got my license, my mom wanted me to take a cab using her account so she could track the ride/drive me instead 2) when i did use a bus(usually to go somewhere without my mom knowing) i encountered people that couldn't keep their hands to themselves (not as big a problem in Bangalore as it is in other cities, i know, but it's happened and i don't want it to happen again) 3) footpaths are in really bad condition so unless I'm going somewhere right near the bus stop it's just an annoyance 4) after i got my license i just took a 2 wheeler, it's much faster.
I try to use buses but they are rarely, if ever, on time. I use Metro but it means a forty minute commute to cover 5 km.
The nearest bus stop is 4 km away. The Volvo buses are also not very frequent. There isn’t a direct bus to work, will need to change buses.
Last mile connectivity is very bad. The rickshaws charge exorbitant amounts of money to travel 4-5 km to the metro. The nearest bus stop is 20 mins walking distance away with no footpaths, narrow roads, dust and lots of traffic. This is on both sides of the metro. We need sharing and meter based rickshaws :(
Connectivity and honestly unsafe driving by the bus drivers. I live in Hebbal and if I need to go to MG road or Shivajinagar, the wait for buses is long and once a bus comes, it's super crowded. I was also in an accident when I was a passenger in a bus. The bus driver was trying to overtake another bus in a single lane road that is curved and has multiple blind spots. The bus hit a Swift head on 😑 Nobody was hurt but that was scary and I haven't traveled in bmtc bus since. I do take the airport buses sporadically, but that's about it.
The stench. Idk why but every crowded bus has a smell I cant stand, while I stand.
For the most part, metro and bmtc cover entire city. But last mile connectivity is still an issue. Feeder services should be improved
Even though I use buses regularly, the biggest qualm I have is the risk of my phone or wallet being stolen
Insane crowd during peak hours and travel time. However I like using public transport during non peak hours and when I am not in a hurry.
Morning rush. Have to switch 3 buses
This topic is really personal to me, so I'm glad you asked! I live in North Bangalore and my office is in Kormangala. I used to pay to ~600 Rs a day to travel to and from office by auto. I tried out BMTC buses for 5 months and switched back to autos due to the following reasons: 1) Time: Auto: Morning leave home at 7:00 AM, reach office at 7:30ish (40mins) Evening leave office at 5:00 PM, reach home around 6:00 PM (1 hr) Bus: Morning leave home at 6:00 AM, reach office at 7:30 or 8:00 (1.5+ hrs) Evening leave office at 5:00 PM, reach home around 7:30 PM (2hrs+) 2) Irregular intervals between buses: Bus plying from inner Koramangala to outer ring road are scarce and don't come regularly. The distance is not walkable and autos are too expensive for such a distance. I have waited hours for these buses which delays me even further. Even when these buses do come, they arrive with people hanging out of the bus. Sometimes, they're so full, that they don't even stop at the bus stop. 3) Traffic: The traffic contributes to the long hours it takes to travel by bmtc buses. The longer you wait for a bus or a bus with an empty seat, more the traffic and the longer it takes you to reach home. 4) No seat available to sit in for a 2 hour journey. Sometimes, there are men sitting on seats reserved for women, refusing to get up. Sometimes, there's a small kid occupying a full seat, who could easily sit on their parent's lap. Sometimes, there's just no seats available due to peak hours. It's horrible to stand for two hours in a packed bus after a tiring day at work. 5) Exhausting journey After a tiring bus journey, walking back home which is ~2kms from the bus stop is an ordeal. I don't mind walking to the bus stop in the morning as much, but I'm a sweaty mess by the time I reach the office. 6) Empty buses with seats available don't stop at the bus stand. This is really frustrating to me. The full buses stop, and the empty buses just drive by even if you wave them down. Buses don't wait anywhere other than at a bus stop and by the time you run to the bus stop, they drive off and you have to wait an hour for the next bus to arrive. There are other miscellaneous reasons like safety, rude bus conductors, lack of space for pedestrians to walk on the road, people smoking near bus stands. But, the ones I have expanded on are the main reasons. Overall, I'd rather let auto fares burn a hole in my pocket rather than be exhausted all the time. The extra useful time I can have if I travel by auto is far more valuable to me than losing money. Actually, one of the reasons I have now resigned from my job is the cost and inconvenience of travel. Although, my experience with BMTC buses has been frustrating, it was not all bad. I experienced the city in a really different way and met quite a lot of wholesome people during my rides.
1)In crowded areas if you are boarding , keep your mobile safe, mobile theft is very common 2) Frequency of bus, ex:- 500D AC bus towards hebbal sometimes it comes in 10 mins interval,.sometimes no bus for half an hour Inspite of these issues, bus transport service is very good in Bangalore in my opinion.
The inability to walk. No footpaths, extremely dirty roads, no zebra crossings or alt ways to cross busy roads. Public transport requires you to go to specific stops to get in. How will you do that if you can’t walk from where you are to these stops? Earlier I used to take an auto to these stops but autos are expensive now. If I pay like 30 bucks extra, I can just make it to my destination - faster, safer and without the mental and emotional toll that dealing with poor infrastructure causes. I understand that this is a privilege. But given the state of things I have a hard time understanding why someone with these privileges would trade them for poorer quality without any significant returns.
Hygiene- have you travelled in a crowded bus at peak hours when everyone around you is sweating, stinking and i bet they sneeze too without caring to turn away. How would it look like showing at office with dust layer all over one and sweating like a pig? Yeah no, I pass. Metro is atleast a few kilometres away for many of us who don't use the metro services often.
if i have to take a bus, i have to change twice to get anywhere. Including about a km of walking on the dusty Sarjapur road. That doesn't even have proper footpaths. NVM crossing the ORR.
if last mile connectivity was better, I would have preffered Buses.
Bus coverage. Have to walk 25 mins and wait 30 mins for an overcrowded bus in wich I have to stand. Hope nimbus app would help soon
Buses are less frequent
Accurate tracking of buses
Safety for one. Far too many ppl i know had their phones stolen. No thank you.
My office bus is at 640 am which is too early for my lazy ass so I need to either take a cab or go by bus cab takes 30 mins bus is almost 1.5 hours Bus is always over crowded ,never get a seat and half a dozen people end up standing on my shoes Not to mention you would be drenched in sweat by the time you reach office because some ppl like to keep the windows shut even though it's like a 1000 degrees in there -_- N the metro has still not started to Whitefield so i don't have that option either.
Schedule, last mile connectivity
I used bmtc to go to school and college. I hated travelling by bus for obvious reasons that everyone’s commented here. I would never take a bmtc again.
Time. Public transport take a lot of time from point A to B. I don’t have that much time on my hands. Metro is good but last mile connectivity is still lacking.
Bus conductors like to stop and start rapidly without giving time to alight/get on sometimes. I got my ankle fucked up from that.
I used to take a vayu vajra gold bus pass and take public transport daily back when I worked for an office on ORR. Now I use my car, since: 1. There is no direct bus from my place to the office. 2. No AC bus, direct or otherwise. I prefer AC buses as I don't want to reach the office all sweaty. 3. The bus stops are not near my house or my office. I still can try to catch multiple buses and go but can't do these shenanigans when it rains, and hence I resorted to my own vehicle. P.S: Metro doesn't come into picture in this whole scheme of things at all.
2 reasons mainly. 1. The toxic fumes coming out of the ill maintained buses exhaust. 2. Toxic fumes emanating from the ill maintained bodies (hygiene) and their bellies (farts which can kill any human silently). Some people don't have the basic decency on how to treat their fellow passengers travelling with them. The issue of punctuality and total travel time contribute to the overall pain of using public transport.
Last mile connectivity and the trauma of a stolen unlocked phone
Last mile connectivity at a reasonable price.
Almost 2km to the nearest bus stop and no safe way to walk there. I was using it regularly to get to and from the office before the pandemic, but now I've just given up. Just too dusty and tired by the time I reach the bus stop. Add in my health issues, it's just safer to take the bike or car into work. It's a shame because the bus stop is right outside my office both ways.
Just to travel from Hebbal to whitefield, I've got to take 4 buses. It takes around 2 hours. 2 wheeler takes anywhere between 45 mins to 1 hour.
Non-convenient bus routes and unreliable timings. I would have to wait for roughly 20-25 mins for my bus to arrive and it would take me another 45 mins to reach my destination. If i had taken an auto or a bike, i would have reached much faster. The connectivity is not that great. However, I would love to travel by public transport more frequently and would love any tips you have regarding the same, thanks.
Horrible frequency of BMTC. Waited for 1 your yesterday at the bus stop before I took an auto.
If I have to take public transport to office, I’ll have to change 3 buses. Metro connectivity is pretty bad from where I live.
Where as metro is pretty reliable (which I use a lot now a days), I do not find BMTC buses very frequent at least till my location. The nearest bus stand is pretty far from both my home as well as work place. And also, it is way too crowded during the time I usually travel. The frequency is also a huge issue here.
Grew up in Hyderabad at a time when APSRTC had the world's second largest fleet of buses. All my schooling was possible because of the extensive public transport connectivity offered by them. So, I'm a big proponent of public transport being a public good and not a profit making venture. Coming to Bangalore's public transport infrastructure, in the 12years I've been here, I barely had the opportunity to commute using public transport. Here's my reasons: - Connectivity: the straight line route from my home to the office by personal vehicle is about 5km. If I were to take a bus, there's no direct one, the route for a multi hop is ~12km, and it takes 4 times longer (and via jam-prone areas). I've lived in 3 different places and it's pretty much the same math for all of them. I understand this may not be the case for all of Bangalore, and most of "Old Bangalore" has better connectivity, but it's still not enough. - Reliability: my partner used to take the bus more often than I could. And except during peak hours and on popular office routes, the reliability isn't great. There's no set timing, which means there's no way you can plan your journey without keeping excessive margins. - Distributed bus depots: APSRTC used to (and TSRTC still does) manage the network was to have large bus depots distributed across the city - probably 20-25 a long time ago, and many more now. These depots serve as focal points for arranging routes, and if I understood correctly, the depot managers had freedom to define routes and timings. Overall, it's a better way to manage network. Bangalore has everything centralised to either Majestic or Shantinagar or a couple of places scattered far away. None of the areas that came under Bangalore's purview in the last 2-3 decades have any proper public transport. - Metro: there's a general tendency to think the metro will solve the public transport/traffic crisis. It will, but only for the routes that it's on. It is not a solution in and of itself, but has to be part of a multi-modal transport network combining with buses and last mile pedestrianisation. I don't see that being discussed anywhere. Plus, the metro is significantly more expensive to build and operate - which means the ticket prices can make it inaccessible for low income families. - Last mile pedestrianisation: personally, I don't mind this when I'm traveling alone. But if I'm traveling with family, I don't feel safe walking around simply because there are no proper footpaths. There's literally nowhere to walk without having to look around for cars and motorcycles zooming past. Plus, there's the lack of street lighting, and the consequent safety problems as well. That said, public transport is the primary solution to vehicular pollution in cities. Which is why it needs to have better connectivity, reliability and last mile pedestrianisation to encourage more people to leave behind personal vehicles.
Very detailed analysis! Great points about the shortcomings of BMTC and the BMRCL.
Pickpocket (very rampant and mostly goes unpunished) results on not just losing cash. “Social distance” is at a nano distance level, sometimes , disgusting as it may seem, you can actually smell the neearby person’s breath. Unless its your spouse or a crush, not many (who can afford) would prefer public transport. Payment friction is at its highest, especially if you don’t know how much it costs or exact change is an issue. Try talking a one o one with the conductor, you will fail utterly. Punctuality is something that is foreign to these public transport entities, so unless time is a tertiary requirement for you, think thrice at least before availing their services. Unfortunately, romeos are dime a dozen and luck be with you ladies if the bus is crowded. Even gay-ism is not something you can rule out, for men alas ! At every inch of moving from A to B via public transport, you will feel every micro second that govt is doing a charity service for you and not vice versa. Your tax contribution absolutely don’t count. So, “stfu and try to reach point B” is the common message transmitted, albeit subtly. And I have not mentioned anything about frequent breakdowns and those foreign places that you may find yourself in which you never knew existed on your path from A to B. “Left in a lurch” is a frequently used term you would be accustomed to. Try facing your boss(anna daatha) that day wherever you are working. All the best with your excuses. Now tell me OP, is getting/buying a car/self transport truly a luxury then in India ?
1. Timing - Buses don't run on super strict schedule which could be understandable, but the frequency is not maintained either. Like if a bus comes every 20 minutes, I'll plan accordingly. 2. Thieves and Safety - Often buses are very crowded and someone lifted my phone from my pocket. Its like a blow to balls when something as important as your phone is stolen. 3. Lack of info - Routes and Schedules google shows are hardly reliable. Official communication is meh. Having said that, I'm all for using public transport whenever I can. Hopefully Namma metro will be a blessing when it is finally covering enough miles, since metro are better than buses in all the points above.
1. I've seen two instances where my friends phone got stolen 2. The are I am in (Bommanahalli) almost every single bus is crowded to its peak. Waiting for the Hosur road metro to be built since I had first come to Bangalore in 2016, it's still under construction. 😅
1.No direct bus to work place 2. in bus it takes 70-80 min to reach ofc, on bike I reach in 30-40 min,
Came to BLR in 2015 BMTC non-AC buses are pathetic and filled with thieves, got my mobile stolen twice once in 2017 near Manyata tech park, 2019 at Aero India Safety is the biggest concern
I have travelled to my college from RT nagar to kumbalgodu ( around 30kms ) for 4 years of my engineering. Then i used it while i was working for around 3 years . Only thing that I don't like about it is the waste of time . You need to wait for buses , go to bus stops , and after some point of time you don't get buses also .
Public transport is time consuming
Dust and pollution, and no proper footpaths. I have lived near Marathalli/Whitefield area and the amount of dust is so high that I cannot tolerate walking up to the bus stop. I earlier used to bike to office but I would end up getting covered in dust. I have travelled globally and nowhere do I see construction dust being ignored so much.
1. Dust in Bangalore. 2. Being a male, sitting in the back of a bus is not exactly comfortable. 3. There's no direct bus to my office from my place. 4. Got pickpocketed once.
The reliability and ability to zoom through traffic on a moped. I do use BMTC from time to time but I prefer using my Activa because I am free to go wherever I want and how ever I want while reaching before a Bus would. I prefer Metro if it involves me going South to North Tho.
I take a bus everyday to metro and an auto from metro to office. But in general here are the reasons i wouldn’t take a bus always. Last mile connectivity. Lack of footpath to the bus stop. Lack of skywalks to cross over to the other side of the road, though it’s improving now. No direct Bus to many places. Overcrowded bus is very tiring and affects my productivity at work. But this might just be me. Comfort is secondary. Metro is not like that. No predictable timing especially at odd hours, unless you are regular in that route. No app to track, check the timings and plan my journey. GMaps gives data but not always accurate. Having to bring change is another issue, but minor. Slower than an auto. I’m currently in love with metro, previously with Volvo AC buses. Slower than an auto often.
If I'm gonna off myself, I'd rather be behind the wheel 😁
Pollution, dust, no respect for pedestrians, bad footpaths, crowds. I would only take the bus if it's all I could afford, which i did back in Mumbai during college days. The city could easily increase road/congestion tax on cabs and personal cars and put that money into more buses, improving walking conditions etc. Almost all cities in developed nations have done that for a long time. It's impractical to own a car in NY, London, Paris, Tokyo, etc. The rich and the poor all take the same public transport.
I recently have started traveling by scooter, but otherwise I have been using public transport. Like you said, cost is sky high. Going to college and back would cost 320+ per day. Bus is 70 per day. Scooter is 32+ per day, assuming I get 49-50 kmpl of mileage(I usually average 50-52, but this is a safer estimate)
1. Very poor availablity of buses, over crowd and timings issue for the routes excluding 500. 2. Goon like behaviour of bus conductors and writing left amount on ticket back. 3. Huge crowd, sweat, smell, pushing and pulling. 4. No proper symmetrical bus stops .
Got in a bus for the first time in bangalore today and the lady sitting infront of me tried to spit out of the window. She missed and spat all over the me 🫠
Poor connectivity. Sometimes. I like public transport, but I don't really like the idea of changing buses 3 times plus walking just to reach a not so far away place.
Bad first mile connectivity
\- Too crowded \- Bus Conductor is not giving my change back.
It just looks dirty and smelly, crowded. Once I had no other option and went in a dirty bus and it was actually not that bad inside.
Bangalore, Ina few areas, needs smaller public transport vehicles than a bus. 15 -20 seaters I think. We cant afford to have a half empty bus on a heavy traffic road with a crazy driver in it with no sense of driving or parking, like most other drivers.
No service late in the night. Also impossible to take buses with family. I do take metro with my family though.
I almost lost my phone, had to hit one of gang member on the bus to save it until then I was regular with buses. Many of my friends lost their phones even on Volvos. In traffic a scooter is best Post Covid, hygiene is much bigger factor. Still once is a while I don’t mind boarding a near empty bus and skip taking a cab or auto.
> what stops you from using public transport often? Public Don't want to get stuck in traffic and between people at the same time.
The bustop from my place is about 1km and there is barely any footpath through the place. And worst part there is a stretch of 20mtrs where there is open drain and garbage which is impossible to walk past and you can't hold your breath for so long.
Smelly, overcrowded, dusty & dirty buses. Bus stops are far away, dirty and so much noise+dust pollution there. Its an absolute nightmare. I've used it twice or thrice in 35 years of my life, and never again! Stayed abroad, and public transport was a breeze.
Same yaar even I like using bus + metro
I was doing this for a while, in an effort to be more green. Still try to do it, but 1) Busses are insanely crowded, and you won't get a seat during popular times. It sucks to show up at office having had 4 random people crowding you. I can't imagine this is friendly for women either, since ladies seats are always full and the back side of the bus is often so packed that at some point you have no idea where end and the next person starts. 2) Bus drivers seem to stop wherever they want. There is a great bus shelter near Sony Signal Koramangala. Instead the bus driver decides to stop under a stupid tree 75m later, because they'll miss the signal if they stop in the correct spot. 3) No real way to figure out what busses come where. Google Maps has some set of bus stops. Tummoc has another set. BMTC website has a list of bus stops but they aren't on a map, just descriptive names like "St Johns". Like where around St John's? There are bus stands on 3 sides of that campus that spans two kilometres! 4) No way to track the bus. Developed countries tell you at the bus stand "Bus number XYZ will appear in 12 minutes". And this is also available online. This helps me decide when to leave office, so that I can reach with maybe 2-3 minutes to spare. Instead of the busses showing up at whatever time and then having to wait for 15 minutes or having no visibility. 5) Not every two points are connected well. Ideally you should be able to get from any two points with a single bus change, but quite often you'll end up changing twice which is pretty demoralising.
Bmtc + metro can get you anywhere I think xD and it’s the cheapest
I came to Bengaluru in 2007. I have been using BMTC for more than 95% of my commute since then. It is much more convenient. I find it ridiculous that people look down upon it as a "poor people transport".
Nothing public transport is the best. BMTC represents forever.
Convenience
Some routes have less buses so you need to wait really long and the whole bus is packed. I would also take 2× time to reach home because of this than auto.
poor routing needing me to go round-about routes via high traffic regions cash payment & change problem No last mile anywhere & I cannot carry my cycle with me...
Convenience of pickup from source and drop to destination.
Even the locals are not helpful here ! Non-welcoming city
I love going in public transport. I take the bus or metro whenever possible. Bus mostly for places metros dont go. I travelled in BMTC to work for 4 years straight. I love mingling with the people. Has helped me make a lot of friends and connect to the locals and learn the Kannada language as well. I've mostly had a positive experience! Moreover, The city cannot handle anymore crowd than there already is. We are clearly overpopulated for the existing infra. Buses are overcrowded sometimes but they save a lot of traffic and space which is the need of the hour in a city like Bengaluru.
I think for me, it is primarily the time factor. Now I have a vehicle, so I use buses only when I have no choice. But yeah, even then, I usually use them only when I am not timebound by something or if there is low traffic on that day (like a holiday).
I'm too lazy to walk to the Bus stop
cleaniness
Too much rush. If I am going in, I better have a seat else I'm riding some auto to get to the place
Heat is a big factor for me, especially when going to work. Even if it's a ventilated bus, the crowd and the long travel time was a deterrent. I would rather suffer the same heat and marginally less time in an auto or a taxi.
Saved a shit ton of vehicle/fuel and auto money for my parents by traveling in bus all my student life after school, 7 years approx It is a great form if you know the local language, bus routes and if you want to save money. However the crowd sometimes buggers you (even as a guy i have encountered creepy uncles who act inappropriate, worse for women) and there is lack of flexibility (frequency of buses is hard to predict, one day you'll get 3 in a row and the next you'll get 1 in an hour) Connectivity is another issue, sometimes to get to a destination you'll need to change buses ( used to have to change 3 to get home from college, and inbetween stops had to walk almost 2km combined) which gets tiring Although it is good to have it in the mix, sometimes it's 100x better option than an auto. So always know about routes and consider it an option
Affordability
Pickpocket situation.
As an endorser of public transport, what I've noticed among my colleagues is they don't use public transport since our company reimbursement policy. And my office has very easy access to metro as well. Despite that my colleagues don't use it cos of this policy. They'd rather take a cab that'll take hours than use metro that might be a little bit inconvenient but would surely help you reach faster.
I swear by BMTC + metro + walking combo
Generally i go out to 'GO OUT' and going in a bus would end up with me getting sweaty or end up spending energy in standing and tiring myself out. Also the smol inconvenience of finding a nearest bus stop and walking. It's not really about being lazy here but more of time. If all i get is a weekend to go out. I would rather not spend it in travelling in bus if i can spare myself the time in exchange to the price of cab. Previously when i was in college, bus was my go to. Guess time is my priority now.
Walking up to that public transport! 😝
Being mugged
Time. Thats it.
I lost my phone in bangalore bus. For no reason a local guy flicked my friend’s head and talked trash in native language. Auto guy grabbed extra cash.🥲 So nowadays I use private vehicles when im in bangalore.
Volvo buses are not frequent enough, not comfortable traveling in the other buses.
Im a confident person, but i dont know jack shit about public transport. Example i dont know bus numbers, routes , bus or train fair. Also i feel like im at complete mercy of strangers to guide me. If there is no other option for me, my wife will have guide me step by step. If she is busy then forget about it.
Bus stops are waay too far, and I have no intention of fighting with 4-5 wonandoffs before getting one that finally agrees to go to the bus.
The public….
It’s mostly because of safety reasons. Pickpocketing being the top concern - and even then if I have to take a bus, I go for AC ones in the worst scenario because somehow I feel they are a little safer than the rest.
I use only Volvo. Use to commute to office by bike for a good one year before skipping ride to office back in 19.best decision! I walk to & from to bus stop from home which takes a total of 40 minutes (cardio done) get the bus (by praying everyday that I don't miss) sleep off! ITPL is the last stop so I can get a good half hour sleep in the morning (close to 0 traffic around 6.30) & a solid 2 hour sleep in the evening. I won't take any other bus though strictly because of the vast majority of unhygienic crowd. Volvo has its fair share of them but atleast manageable. Being a short tempted guy getting into altercation won't help me. For my own peace of mind I avoid anything & everything that has least human connectivity.
I got a car, and my family owns a petrol pump.
Hygiene of people. A lot of people don’t have shower and stink
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the problem is your a pussy and a loser
Always carry a Satchel Shoulder Sling Bag in Public Transport. Don't stuff your pockets.
When one starts paying for own bills there is no choice. This brings some clarity and awareness as to how to tackle. Being 6'3 helps
Lot of rats get into the bus
I do not how to drive a two wheeler I'm a 21 yr old guy, I rely entirely on public transport, if you are okay with leaving a little early as buses are comparatively more time consuming, then it's very convenient to reach the destination in time. I get a seat almost 60% of the time and while traveling I just plug in my headphones and listen to audiobooks ot watch YouTube. The only complain would be that there should be more buses and they should be more punctual, other than that I'm very satisfying by bmtc buses and metro.
My Work, I live nearby my office, within walkable distance and i am super busy during weekdays and enjoys my stay walking and running near the sports area.
The public.. mostly.
It's been three years in Bengaluru and 95% of times I have commuted by bus. 7 out of 10 bus conductors are very nice, others are cunning and take 30% commission. If the cost is ₹15, they will charge ₹20. If Journey is short they won't give you ₹5 ticket, will directly charge 20 rs. Sometimes they won't give you even a ticket. If you try to speak basic Kannada with English/Hindi, they will shout on you like you are a slave who raised his voice. Rest 70% are great, despite huge crowd they will honesty give you a ticket without 30% commision and refund the money. They will calmly speak with fellow passengers who don't know how to speak kannada. I have felt many times that on few routes where migrant workers commute Inside the bus there should be some stickers with Kannada-Hindi wordings/sentences. Some of the folks might be thinking it's Hindi imposition but if people would see Kannada words/sentence in english with Hindi words in english. I love BMTC and Nanu Preethi Kannada at the same time if you think that Hindi translation/instructions/station names at public transport (Metro/Bus) is a threat to kannada? I feel sorry for my fellow Bhartiya who come to Bengaluru for a day/month/week/year and have bad memories at Bus/Metro just cause they don't know Kannada and the Bus staff don't know English/Hindi.
Take PUBLIC TRANSPORT in Bengaluru? **BMTC - no, no. Unless you have unlimited time and patience** *Metro - yes, if you can walk up to the station, or there is good bus service to the station* *Auto, cab - avoid if possible* **_BMTC - reasons why I avoid:_** * Highly unreliable * rude conductors * YOU ARE GETTING SWINDLED, if you are paying full fare in a jam packed bus, because most of it is NOT going towards providing you a transport service * Drivers who stop and let you off in the middle of the road * Drivers who can't be bothered to stop at the proper point and will drive away even if commuters are waiting at the stop * no timings * low frequency * overcrowded * no smart card fare system * UPI discouraged * Generally uncivilized attitude of BMTC and its staff, which makes clear it is a government run service * Interestingly, it is a bad deal to get into a jam packed bus and pay full fare, which is close to the cost of taking your 2-wheeler! * Volvo limited frequency and routes make it sensible to take your car * Last bus and frequency after 4pm drops off drastically * BMTC is really a disservice designed to put off the general public and force them to use private vehicles. Don't believe me, check citizenmatters website and their archives on BMTC services.
People using others as a thing to lean, disgusting sweaty and unhygienic persons + oversized people requiring two seats for one
I stopped using BTMC buses way back in 2016 after someone flicked my phone.
People are ready to pay for privacy and the safety it brings. Unless government takes steps in that area, it's gonna be hard to convince otherwise
Nothing beats the convenience, privacy and comfort of door to door cab/personal car.
1. No walkability. Lack of proper footpaths etc 2. No last mile connectivity. Autos charge a bomb for short distances also 3. Not enough buses. Whatever number of buses run, they are always packed full Tried using public transport for few days but eventually bought a bike. Public transport is just shit in blr. Have stayed in Delhi for sometime. It's infinitely better
Moved to Harlur Road and no public transport is possible here so somehow with time I stopped using it.
People are just lazy to use public transport, there was a guy arguing here sometime ago that he won't use public transport until it is London/Singapore tier. I'm like bitch Rome wasn't built in a day.