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Long before commercial operations began, the Sir M. Visvesvaraya Railway Terminal at Baiyappanahalli grabbed headlines for its “airport-like layout” and “world-class” facilities, including a centralized air-conditioned system. Over ₹300 crore was spent to build the terminal, which can handle 50,000 passengers per day, to decongest other busy railway stations in Bangalore.
Although the state-of-the-art facility has been operational for six months, connectivity remains a major concern. Approach roads cannot handle such large volumes once the terminal reaches full operational capacity. The civic body’s proposal to build a “rotary flyover” at a cost of ₹300 crore remains on paper.
Officials were ridiculed for coming up with connectivity plans after the terminal was completed and operational rather than at the conceptual stage.
Lack of proper integration
Seamless access to different modes of travel is not new. The non-integration of the metro station and railway station at Yeswantpur, as well as the different modes of transport at Majestic are just two examples.
In one such case, after a three-year hiatus, the Bangalore Development Authority recently resumed work on adding more lanes to the Hebbal flyover. In 2019, the project stalled after BMRCL raised objections to Phase III expansion and the construction of additional loops to integrate various modes of transport. With this, BDA decided to redesign the project.
Land Transport Authority
Considering these issues, the State Government has decided to set up the Bangalore Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) for the development, management, operation, monitoring and supervision of urban mobility in the Bangalore Metropolitan Area.
“The National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP), 2014 recommends that cities with a population of more than 10 lakh should have a unified metropolitan planning authority,” said Manjula V, Commissioner, Directorate of Urban Land Transport.
The Authority is headed by the Chief Minister and has 34 members including two special invitees and 10 non-members including the Minister of Transport, Minister in-charge of Bangalore, heads of various departments and others. Experts and civilian representatives form part of the authority, which is assisted by an executive committee headed by the chief secretary.
It brings agencies like BMTC, BMRCL, Traffic Police, BBMP and BDA under one umbrella. During the winter session, both houses of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly passed the BMLTA Bill, 2022. The many institutions, departments and independent laws they are required to follow are currently causing overlapping responsibilities and duties. thereby hindering the process of streamlining and improving urban mobility.
Aloke Mukherjee, Senior Associate, World Resources Institute, said, “Now, transport and civic organizations are operating autonomously. Most of the time, they don’t have a clear picture of what other agencies are planning or how they are implementing projects. If these organizations come under BMLTA, there will be better coordination and planning. BMLTA should look into aspects like integrated platform for purchasing tickets for different travel modes and better route plans so that Namma Metro and BMTC services complement each other.
Expansion of metro network
BMLTA is being formed at a crucial time. This year, around 40 km metro line will be implemented covering areas like two IT corridors: Whitefield and Electronics City. By 2025-26, Phase II, and Phase II A and Phase II B will be open to the public. The opening of the ORR-Airport Metro line is expected to ease traffic.
In parallel, the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Ltd — K-RIDE — has started implementing the much-delayed 148 km Bangalore Suburban Rail project. In the first phase, K-RIDE is operating on the Baiappanahalli-Chikkabanavara line.
Simple ticketing system
As many modes of transport are coming up, public transport systems should complement each other. Bangaloreans have been demanding for years that BMRCL and BMTC should integrate their ticketing systems. In the city, the Metro has been operational since 2011, but the two agencies have failed to introduce an integrated platform.
IISc Sustainable Transportation Lab Convenor Professor Ashish Verma said, “BMLTA should review all public transport projects to avoid confusion and confusion. Private vehicle use is increasing and authorities continue to expand road networks to accommodate more vehicles. Construction of more flyovers should be discouraged and use of public transport system should be encouraged.
The number of vehicles in the city has already crossed one crore.
A comprehensive plan
Manjula V., Commissioner, Directorate of Urban Land Transport, said, “The BMLTA Bill provides statutory powers to the BMLTA to ensure holistic planning for mobility through Comprehensive Mobility Plan, City Mobility Investment Programme, Annual Implementation Plan etc. coordination between different organizations; development of standards and guidelines for mobility infrastructure and services; service level benchmarking; development of appropriate policies; integration of land use and transport planning; Agencies are funded through Bangalore Metropolitan Land Transport Authority Fund for mobility related projects.
BMRCL Managing Director Anjum Parvez said, “BMLTA’s constitution addresses issues from traffic to clearing transport projects. Discussions on transport system, policy issues and other issues will help achieve better coordination.
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