BMTC to operate Bus Services from 6am to 8pm
Reportedly with chief minister BS Yediyurappa, on tuesday, ruling out extension of the week-long shutdown in bengaluru, the state-owned bus corporations said they will operate buses from wednesday with precautions.Meanwhile the karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) announced they will operate the buses but in limited numbers with caution and restrictions.
Meanwhile the KSRTC runs inter-district and inter-state buses, whereas the BMTC operates its buses in the bengaluru municipal area, bengaluru urban district and bengaluru rural district. After the lockdown was imposed from July 14 to 22 morning, to check the spread of the coronavirus, the two transport corporations had stopped their operations in Bengaluru. The BMTC said that it has decided to run only 1,500 buses initially only on major traffic routes barring containment zones.
"Initially the BMTC will operate 1,500 services in bengaluru city on major traffic routes, excluding containment zones. services will be increased based on passenger traffic," the BMTC said in a press release. The transport corporation said its services will be operated between 6 am to 8 pm everyday as opposed to 5 am to 11 pm earlier. As part of its standard operating procedures, the transport corporations said the crew will wear data-face masks while on duty, use hand sanitizers and maintain hygiene. Buses will be stopped at the designated bus stops for boarding and de-boarding. They said that data-face masks and social distancing will be mandatory for the passengers too.