Bangalore Majestic Bus Stand closes by next week

But BMTC Terminal Will Continue Operations

If you’re travelling out of town by bus, the KSRTC bus stand, better known as Majestic, will no longer be your point of departure. Services from here will be stopped within a week as the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation begins work on the underground station that will be ready, hopefully, in 2012. However, the adjacent BMTC bus stand will continue to operate from its current location.

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is shifting operation of all its services to various satellite terminals and makeshift bus bays in the city. “We’ll come up with a detailed schedule of arrivals and departures of KSRTC services within a week,’’ transport minister R Ashoka told reporters here on Thursday.

As per the initial plan, transport officials said KSRTC will operate its out-station services (except Airavata) from satellite terminals, including Mysore Road, Shanthinagar, Hebbal, Peenya and NGEF.

Ashoka said the Metro requires around 20 acres of working area for construction of underground stations at two levels though they are using only 7 acres. The work is likely to begin from January next.

Free service
Minister Ashoka said BMTC will offer a free service for those who want to commute to Majestic from various satellite stations. “They can produce the KSRTC ticket and travel by BMTC buses to Majestic,’’ he said.

METRO @ MAJESTIC Services will be relocated gradually
work on the Metro project kicking off in Subashnagar area in January, the KSRTC bus stand will be shut and 20 acres made available for the project. But the project will finally require only 7 acres and the remaining 13 will be given back to KSRTC for development of a full-fledged bus station.

“We operate nearly 3,000 departures a day from Majestic and have to relocate them gradually since we cannot abruptly change the pattern. Quite a few schedules will continue to be operated in the vicinity of Majestic area,’’ the minister said.

This apart, Ashoka said the working area of Metro would dislocate some of the depots, which maintain over 1,500 buses.

Ashoka later said the transport department has outlined a Rs 1,300 crore plan to revamp the bus stand to enable it to hold about 12,000 vehicles. The plan involves construction of multistoreyed parking and a 45-floor office and commercial space.

GREEN AUTOS
As part of the effort to bring down pollution, the government will formally unveil green autos on November 26. Ashoka said it would be mandatory for autorickshaws to have eco-friendly engines that run on LPG and petrol. All new autos in the city should be green.

DECENTRALIZATION OF PERMITS
The government will soon decentralize powers to issue permits to motorists. The department has decided to give this authority to deputy commissioners, keeping in mind that he would have full knowledge of the particular district.

The KSRTC bus stand in Subhashnagar, Bangalore, will be shut for Metro Rail work. Buses will operate from Mysore Road, Shantinagar, Hebbal, Peenya and NGEF