Resume bus services in Bengaluru: Activists urge Karnataka CM

Bengaluru: As COVID-19 lockdown restrictions are being lifted, activists in Bengaluru have urged Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and state Transport Minister Laxman Sangappa Savadi to restart Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus service in the city.

The Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV) wrote to CM and demanded that the government resume bus service following COVID-19 norms.

In addition, they urged that as many have lost their jobs or have had no income for the past two months, the fares must be fixed at Rs 5 and Rs 10.

They further said that if the reduction of fare causes stress on BMTC, the government must provide viability gap funding to the transport corporation to compensate for the revenue loss.

Also, the letter urged the government to consider transport workers as frontline workers and provide them benefits such as testing, vaccination and other necessary medical aid.