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Bengaluru: BMTC to deploy 2,000 buses from Monday, Namma Metro services only during peak hours | Bengaluru News

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BENGALURU: In a relief to public transport users, the state government has allowed buses and metro services to ply with 50% capacity from Monday.
At present, only auto rickshaws and cabs are allowed with a maximum of two passengers. The government didn’t allow buses and metro services even though industries reopened after lockdown on last Monday.
After a long gap, State Transport Undertakings (STUs) including KSRTC and BMTC are gearing up to commence operations from Monday. While transport employees went on an indefinite strike from April 7 to 21, 2021, the government announced a lockdown from April 27 due to the second wave of Covid-19.
STUs are planning to scale up services in a phased manner based on the passenger demand. BMTC is expected to operate around 2,000 buses. On Saturday, STU employees at depots across the state disinfected buses. Officials said all crew and passengers will have to wear masks and follow Covid protocols.
BMTC managing director C Shikha said: “We will operate 1,800-2,000 buses in the first phase. Around 90% of our employees have already taken the first dose of vaccination and 5-8% received the second dose. We will give preference to the employees who received both doses while assigning duties. Those who have taken one dose have to get the RT-PCR negative report. Arrangements have been made at the depots for conducting tests” she said.
KSRTC officials said they are also ready to resume services from Monday. “Around 93% KSRTC staff received the first dose, while 10% got the second dose. We will operate services based on the demand from passengers” said a KSRTC official. Meanwhile, many private operators decided not to operate buses till normalcy returns due to losses and low demand.
Namma Metro during peak hours
Namma Metro will operate services on both Purple and Green Lines only during peak hours from Monday. Services will be between 7am to 11am and 3pm to 6pm with a frequency of five minutes. “Frequency of train services will be reviewed depending on the passenger traffic” said a press release from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on Saturday.
Services will be operated only on weekdays. No Metro services on Saturdays and Sundays due to week-end curfew. BMRCL stated that only smart card-based travel is allowed and also urged passengers to utilize online top-up facility through mobile app and BMRCL website.
“Only cashless transactions will be allowed at station counters for purchase of smart cards and recharges to avoid spread of Covid-19″ , said a release. Thermal scanning at station entry, hand sanitization, mandatory wearing of face mask and social distancing will be followed. Alternate seats to be kept vacant in Metro trains for social distancing”, it adds.



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