Public Transport Access in Bengaluru: BMTC Bus Services as a Local Public Good

Abstract : A key means of guaranteeing a high urban mobility, economic efficiency and a sense of social integration in booming cities is through the means of urban public transport. Bengaluru, being one of the largest metropolitan regions in India, relies on Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) to transport people across income groups on a day-to-day basis. This study looks at the access to public transport in Bengaluru by analysing BMTC bus services in the context of a quasi-public good. The research utilises both primary and secondary data in the form of to study the capacity of operations, access, as well as emerging challenges in service provision. The primary data was gathered by means of a structured commuter survey filled out via Google form of 30 participants, and secondary data consisted of BMTC annual reports, government publications and spatial data on depot distribution. Preliminary findings suggest that BMTC has extensive coverage of the city, but as it grows, there is congestion and spatial imbalance and as such, efficient access to BMTC is limited in certain areas. The paper identifies some of the policy issues associated with capacity limitations, equity and financial sustainability. The analysis combines the results of the primary commuter survey with secondary institutional and statistical data on determining the accessibility, service quality and commuter experiences. The primary survey data also aids in capturing the experiences of the commuters like waiting time, congestion, affordability and general satisfaction with the BMTC services and hence supplements the secondary analysis of the transport infrastructure and transport operation.