Radha Nayak, a corporate-sector employee in Bengaluru, who has relied on the metro for her commute for the last seven years, still encounters a big challenge — last-mile connectivity. “Commuting from home at Chikkabanavara in North Bengaluru to the office in Halasuru in the central business district [about 20 km] takes two hours, despite taking the metro. The last-mile connectivity issue arises while going from Chikkabanavara to Nagasandra or Dasarahalli metro station [about 5 km] where I have to take a bus,” she says, adding that the bus journey takes half an hour during peak hours. “If the buses are crowded, I am forced to take an autorickshaw. If there were more buses on this route, I could travel more efficiently,” Radha says.
With the inception of the metro service in Bengaluru in 2011, spanning a 6.7-km stretch, commuters anticipated a respite from the city’s perpetual traffic snarls. Now in 2023, the metro network has grown to encompass 73.75 km. However, the persisting problem of inadequate first- and last-mile connectivity has led to a surge in the use of personal vehicles, contributing to the worsening traffic situation. The number of private vehicles in the city which spans 700-odd sq. km continues to escalate and has surpassed 10 million.
Since the launch of the Shakti scheme — which allows free bus rides for women in State-run transport corporation buses — by the Karnataka government on June 11 this year, lakhs of women have started using buses across the State. The success of the scheme is evident in cities such as Bengaluru. It has registered 100 crore free rides so far in the State. Additionally, the opening of the entire Purple Line of Namma Metro from Challaghatta in the west to Whitefield in the east has contributed to an increase in metro ridership, averaging 7,66,880 passengers a day.
