Urban transportation - addressable market size: how big?

silkboard - 12-SEP-2008

I had asked this question at the TransInnova/ BMLTA summit yesterday, and didn't get a good answer, most likely because nobody had a number handy. Local urban transportation is a "problem", and problem equals "opportunity". Why is it that private players are not taking enough interest in lobbying to get access to this market? Policy hurdles would be one reason, but I am curious if the size of the market is being underestimated here. Lets do some numbers, simple and basic.

BMTC's business-oriented outlook

murali772 - 8-SEP-2008

To compensate for the losses in the regular operations, BMTC is now having to look at newer and newer avenues, though in the process they may be deviating totally from their original mandate. The increased contract services for schools and IT sector companies, etc are a part of all that.

BMTC and Rs 750 crores

silkboard - 7-AUG-2008

BMTC has postponed its Rs 750 crore IPO for the time being due to volatile market conditions. But its never too late to look at their plans. BMTC had submitted a Rs 3000 crore plan tothe center under JNNURM to "modernize and expand its network to meet the public transport demands of a growing city.". The plan is (source: Livemint) "to raise money from the public to add luxury buses on newer routes".

Keep the saarige, let go yelli-iddira

tsubba - 21-JUL-2008

Understanding competition as a/the solution for public transit. Muralidhar rao's praja post is a starting point for the discussion on competizing public transport. The other day, during the PTWG meeting, when the issue of the pathetic condition of BMTC's website and demise of yelli-iddira came up, he broke into an impassioned and yet articulate speech. I cannot recollect his exact words, but his basic point was that BMTC lacks any competitive or regulatory pressure and hence the pathetic state of those services. The only way to get service levels to improve is to open its domain for competition. I have heard his basic position many times, but to hear him make his case in person was a friends,countrymen and romans moment for me. In any case, his speech got me thinking ...

Why I gave up on BMTC

namma_nadu - 9-JUN-2008

[Kind of mirrors what so many members here think of BMTC - routing not right, slow, last mile hassle etc etc - here is a real user experience {blr_editor}]

Last week i resolved to try BMTC to commute to office - from BTM to CBD - Ulsoor Road ( or Halsooru Road). I had written earlier to Mr. Sheriff and Tripathy earlier on the pathetic treatment meted out to BTM residents - to no avail. There is not a single bus that runs from BTM to MG Road directly - convenient to travellers.

First - we have 201 and its variants - which are crowded by the time they reach BTM. Requests for a BTM - Domlur variant have been denied till date. Requests for a 'seating only' premium variant have been declined.

Better Bussing For A Green Bangalore

murali772 - 12-DEC-2007

There's no denying that the tree cover in Bangalore is being lost largely due to road widening. Road widening is necessitated due to unchecked growth and usage of private vehicles. To address this problem, you have to have excellent public transport services. METRO may be a solution. But, it is extremely expensive, and at best a solution in the long-term. BMTC cannot cope up with the needs, however much they may appear to have become efficient, which they are not and cannot be, as long as they continue to enjoy a monopoly status. The simple answer is to facilitate the entry of TVS kind of companies (my first exposure to TVS was as a bus service provider in the city of Madurai) into the fray. The present rules do not provide for that. It facilitates only the 'Sharma' kind of operations, which in turn only helps provide fodder for the die-hard opponents of the private sector.