When the 6.7-km-long first stretch of the Bengaluru Metro commenced operations in 2011, commuters were hoping for relief from the city’s bumper-to-bumper traffic jams.
Fast forward to 2023: the ‘Namma Metro’ network has expanded tenfold to cover 68.6 km. However, first and last-mile connectivity is a huge concern that the administration has failed to address. Consequently, public transport isn't the most favoured option for commuting; private vehicle numbers continue to soar — at 10 million and counting.
In addition to poor last-mile connectivity, other factors, including broken pavements, poorly lit streets, and the absence of proper bus shelters, also deter people from using public transport in the country's tech hub.
Commuters cite the absence of shared autorickshaws, errant regular autos, poor feeder bus services and the lack of parking facilities at most Metro stations as major concerns.
“A bus ride is cheaper and an auto ride from the bus stand to home is expensive, which makes a two-wheeler ride for the entire journey cheaper,” Sathya Sankaran, sustainable mobility activist, told Moneycontrol.
“If a public transport operator wants to fight with private vehicles, then we should promote cheaper commuting modes, like cycling, walking and shared mobility. Transit operators should treat the last mile as an extension of their service and improve integration. Instead, if they continue to treat last-mile, shared-vehicle modes as competitors, it is not going to solve the problem,” he added.
Sankaran added that people may eschew public transport if they need to walk more than 500 metres or cycle more than 5 km from the transit station. “If we don't improve the last mile, then public transport share won’t increase despite spending thousands of crores for projects like Metro rail. The Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) which brings all the public mobility services under one umbrella, has a major role in improving integration and coordination of various transit modes in the city.”
Barely 50 km of continuous, wide pavements
Bengaluru has around 14,000 km of road length and only around 50 km of continuous, wide, connected and quality footpaths, mainly in the Central Business District, say experts. Even tech hubs on the Outer Ring Road, as well as upscale areas such as Indira Nagar and Koramangala, lack proper pavements, bus shelters and street lighting.
Of the 50 km of footpaths mentioned above, 19 km are Tender SURE (a specification for urban roads execution) roads.
“TenderSURE roads which were built in CBD areas are a good template for the whole city; those roads/pavements have no major issues. Now, 12 high-density corridors in the city are being upgraded and they should meet the same standards of TenderSURE so they last longer," Naresh V Narasimhan, urban planner and architect, said.
The Comprehensive Mobility Plan prepared by the state government has found that footpaths are available only on about 47 percent of the road length.
1.4K pedestrians lost their lives between 2012 and 2021
In fact, Bengaluru has the dubious record of being among major Indian cities with a high number of pedestrian deaths. Statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau show that 1,438 pedestrian deaths were reported between 2012 and 2021 in the city (see graphic).
On Sunday, a cyclist was killed after being hit by an SUV near Kodigehalli on the Bengaluru airport expressway.
In a 2019 survey, Bangalore Political Action Committee, an NGO, found that 23 percent of the respondents cited a lack of first- and last-mile connectivity as the reason for using private modes of transport. Other reasons for not using public transport include: accessibility (22%), convenience (19%) and affordability (3%).
In many places, Metro stations are not connected with other transit stations through a skywalk/footbridge. For instance, Yeshwantpur Metro station on the Green Line has been operational since March 2014, but is yet to be linked to the nearby railway station. Banashankari Metro station, which has been operational since June 2017, is yet to connect to the BMTC bus terminal. KR Pura Metro station, which was inaugurated in March 2023, is also not linked to the nearby railway station, forcing passengers to cross the road, an excursion that is fraught with danger.
In March 2019, the directorate of urban land transport (DULT) rolled out the much-hyped public bike sharing (PBS) system to provide bicycles around Metro stations and residential areas for last-mile connectivity. However, it failed due to a variety of factors, including poor execution and mobility firms suspending operations.
Lack of shared autorickshaws affects Metro ridership
Bengaluru, unlike other Metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, doesn’t have shared autorickshaws. Shared e-rickshaws on feeder routes are said to be one of the reasons the Delhi Metro became popular.
Poor last-mile connectivity has an impact on Namma Metro ridership. The standing committee on housing and urban affairs (2021-2022) also exposed poor ridership of the Bengaluru Metro. “Bengaluru Metro had Actual Average Daily Ridership (AADR) of only 1.4, 3.4, 4.5, 4.8 and 0.9 lakh in 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively, against Average Daily Ridership required for break-even of 7.6, 10, 12.3, 13.1 and 18.5 lakhs, respectively, in the same period. Thus, Bengaluru metro has been constantly witnessing low ridership than it is required for break-even,” it said. At present, the daily ridership on Namma Metro is only 5.9 lakh.
Bengaluru traffic police, along with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), recently set up pre-fixed auto rickshaw counters at a few stations such as Byappanahalli, MG Road, Banashankari, Majestic and Nagasandra. But there are complaints that these counters are ineffective and that autos are unavailable.
BMRCL managing director Anjum Parwez admitted that last-mile connectivity is a major issue. “DULT and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) are now working to address this issue. BMTC is expected to strengthen feeder bus services. We have roped in micro-mobility service providers like Yulu at Metro stations. The pre-fixed auto counters at stations are slowly picking up,” he told Moneycontrol. “As for allowing shared autorickshaws in the city, the transport department has to take a call.”
Both the transport department and traffic police said they had no problem with shared autos operating in the city, but that such a move would need the approval of the BMTC, which has the exclusive stage carriage permit to pick up and drop passengers from multiple points. BMTC officials were not available for comment.
Namma Yatri to launch flat-fares for last mile
D Rudramurthy, general secretary of the Autorickshaw Drivers Union (ARDU), which started ‘Namma Yatri’ as an alternative to Ola and Uber, told Moneycontrol: “We are planning to come up with ‘Metro to home’ option on our app and will charge flat fares: Rs 40 for 2 km and Rs 55 for 3 km. Drivers will have no option to cancel the ride, so these will be assured trips for customers for last-mile connectivity.”
He added that while shared autos are not allowed in Bengaluru, some drivers operate this service in interior areas. “Traffic police and BMTC are opposing the shared auto concept,” he alleged.
E-bike taxi scheme yet to take-off
In July 2021, the government unveiled a scheme to allow e-bike taxis to step in and offer first and last-mile connectivity, mainly at Metro, bus and railway stations. In December 2022, the Karnataka State Transport Authority (KSTA) issued a bike taxi permit to city-based start-up Bounce, but the company is yet to launch services.
Another Bengaluru-based mobility firm, MetroRide, applied for a bike taxi permit at Jayanagar RTO, but the transport department is yet to give its assent. Currently, MetroRide operates electric autos from select stations.
Girish Nagpal, CEO and founder of MetroRide, told Moneycontrol: “We want to launch electric bike taxis in Bengaluru. We submitted an application four months ago and they asked for multiple documents. We submitted all the required items at least five times. Once approved, we will launch electric bike taxis from Metro stations. Women bike taxi riders will ferry female passengers.”
The firm plans to run bike taxis from Metro stations such as Konanakunte, Indiranagar, Yelachenahalli, JP Nagar, Byappanahalli and Vajarahalli.
“We are already operating electric autos from Konanakunte, Indiranagar, Yelachenahalli and JP Nagar Metro stations. In cities like Hyderabad and Kochi, Metro rail authorities provide dedicated pick-up and drop points at stations for last-mile connectivity providers and also create awareness among passengers. We are not getting such support from the Bengaluru Metro. We are also ready to launch combined ticketing (Metro plus auto/bike taxi) if BMRCL is interested,” said Nagpal.
The transport department has proposed a fare of Rs 25 for the first 5 km and Rs 50 for 10 km for electric bike taxis. Currently, both Rapido and Uber operate petrol-run bike taxis without permission. Auto unions are up in arms against such illegal bike taxis.
20 mini non-AC electric buses soon: BMTC
BMTC officials said they have recently floated a tender to procure 20 mini non-AC buses on a pilot basis to deploy on narrow routes and for last-mile connectivity. “This is a pilot project but our plan is to induct 100 such conductor-less buses. These 6-7m non-AC mini-electric buses, with a seating capacity of 15, will be ideal for last-mile connectivity. We will charge a flat fare or pass/smartcard-based travel. These buses will be operated on narrow and congested roads that are 30-40 feet wide but our main challenge is to get manufacturers of these buses,” said a senior BMTC official.
Transit-oriented development
Last November, to encourage vertical growth along public transit corridors, the state government approved the long-pending Transit Oriented Development (TOD) policy. V Manjula, commissioner, Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), had told Moneycontrol that the plan is to adopt a 6-6-6 concept in Bengaluru to enable more people to live, work or play within easy reach of transit stations.
“The core TOD area will be within a 6-minute walk to the station, which broadly translates to a distance up to 500 meters from the transit station. The standard area within a 6-minute cycling distance to the station covers a distance up to 1 km around the station and is amenable for both walking and cycling. For a distance of 2 km, it will be a six-minute bus trip to the nearest Metro/suburban/bus terminal,” Manjula explained.
Note to readers: This is the seventh article in a series on Bengaluru ahead of Karnataka polls on May 10
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