the millionth convert

text of the letter sent to the Editor, Times of India, Bangalore

I refer to the particular quote "Why can't there be better bus connectivity? I have now been converted from a die-hard public transport fan to one who will add to the vehicular population of the city" by your reader, Ms Raji Sunderkrishnan, in your 'MY TIMES, MY CITY' columns today.

Yes, the incapacity of the government-run monopoly operator, BMTC, is plainly to blame for this growing tendency, and the consequent worsening of the already bad city traffic scenario. Is the government ever going to wake up?

moribund bus transport sector

Not a day passes without some report or the other appearing in the press about the BMTC - whether it's the introduction of the green (yesterday, I noticed a half empty one, even as the regular buses plying alongside were packed beyond capacity), pink, or the blue buses, or the latest - the 10% concession for the senior citizens. But, what good are all these, unless they can provide good connectivity, and can be relied upon to take you from place to place on time? In that respect, the BMTC is not faring any better, and consequently, people are having to become more and more dependent on individualised forms of transport, aggravating the ever-worsening city traffic scenario.

While admittedly there are factors that contribute to this, which are beyond BMTC's control, a lot of it is also resulting from its monopoly status.

Even as enormous benefits have resulted to everyone concerned out of reforms in so many other sectors, it is unfortunate that the government refuses to look at proper reforms in as key an infra-structure sector as the public bus transport services sector.