BENGALURU (Metro Rail News): To address the city’s first-and last-mile connectivity woes, the government may allow shared autorickshaw services near mass transit stations.
“Allow shared autorickshaw services to and from mass transit stations to reduce vehicles and pool trips moving in the same direction,” read the recently released draft Comprehensive Mobility Plan, prepared by Infrastructure Development Corporation (Karnataka) Limited along with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd and Directorate of Urban Land Transport.
So far, only BMTC holds exclusive stage-carriage permit rights in the city and has the right to pick up and drop passengers at multiple points. Most BMTC Metro feeder buses are incurring a loss.
The transport utility is also finding it difficult to operate buses through narrow stretches around areas like Chickpet Metro station. Shared autos are popular in cities like New Delhi, Chennai, and Jaipur, but the concept was opposed in Bengaluru by BMTC itself, fearing revenue loss.
However, many app-based aggregators operate car-pooling services like Ola Share, UberPool, Quick Ride, SRide, RideAlly, and BlaBlaCar.
In Bengaluru, shared autos illegally operate in some pockets like Byappanahalli Metro station, charging a minimum Rs 10 per passenger.
Daily wage workers depend on these services as they are affordable, have better frequency than BMTC buses and stop anywhere along the route. However, the safety of passengers ferried in crowded shared autos and security of women at night have been major concerns.
The draft CMP states urban parking policy should reserve spaces for shared mobility services in places like depots, terminals, and multimodal hubs. It also advocated shared mobility services that have the potential to shift people away from low-occupancy personal vehicles.
