BMTC to restart bus priority lane between Marathahalli and Silk Board junction in January 2026
The bus priority lane was originally launched in 2019 with great fanfare between K.R. Puram and the Silk Board junction. However, it was discontinued after BMRCL removed the bollards that marked the dedicated bus lane to make way for metro pillar construction. 'Due to metro construction, we had to pause the bus priority lane. We will restart it in January,' said Mr. Ramachandran. He was speaking at Enroute: Mobility-as-a-Service Challenge, organised by World Resources Institute, discussing how BMTC plans to collaborate with BMRCL to offer seamless commuting options in the city.
While he confirmed the lane's reinstatement, he did not specify whether the entire stretch would be reopened. The bus priority lane had gained significant popularity among daily commuters and faced considerable backlash when it was shut down.
Mr. Ramachandran also spoke about several new initiatives that BMTC is implementing, highlighting the organisation's shift toward a data-driven approach to enhance the commuting experience in the city. He said that BMTC is developing a digital transport infrastructure, introducing smart cards that will be compatible with electronic ticketing machines, along with smart Shakti cards.'We are planning to install automatic passenger counting systems along with automatic fare collection systems to enable conductorless transit in the city,' Mr. Ramachandran said.
He noted that a major challenge over the next five years is managing the city's transport and traffic. 'BMTC serves over 45 lakh passengers, and BMRCL sees around 8.5 lakh commuters daily, totalling approximately 55 lakh public transport users every day. The city's total population is about 1.5 crore,' he said.
Drawing a comparison with Delhi, he noted that Delhi benefits from multiple transport options, including two corporations that run a total of 10,000 buses, in addition to metro and suburban transit routes. Bengaluru, in contrast, largely depends on BMTC and BMRCL, with BMTC operating a fleet of around 6,888 buses.
Mr. Ramachandran acknowledged that Bengaluru needs a larger fleet to meet the rising demand. To address these gaps, BMTC has adopted a data-driven strategy. The goal is to use data to build a digital stack for transport and integrate all modes of transport to improve the overall commuting experience, he said.
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