garden city. thats what its called. but its time for a new name. something that speaks of the accidents here? it's so common, one would hardly raise a brow to it. auto companies could use these roads for their crash tests. read an article sometime back that b'lore manages the 2nd highest number of road accidents in india, following delhi.
the two months that i've been here, seen 2, witnessed one and was almost part of 2. but i was nestled safely in a cab... those on the receiving end were bikers. as my cousin retorts... need not worry. with the pace of the traffic, you cannot go fast enough to hurt yourself! a minor brush here & there, thats all.
it seems delhi has some 27k kms of road & manages some 1000+ collisions in a year. b'lore meanwhile with 4.5k kms of road does approx 750. that in fact makes me wonder about delhi... with 27k kms of road, do those buggers go around asking for a bump!?
Showing posts with label transport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transport. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
more bmtc...
was very impressed years back when BEST in mumbai came up with their online route search. helped a helluva lot. moving to b'lore expected the same here. haven't been much of a fan of the city, and my crib factor with BMTC only continues to grow :) yeah, BMTC does have a route search. but never realized that the "IT drenched" city of b'lore would make such a half-assed attempt at it!!
i was rather anxious to know how one could get to ITPL from the main city bus stands. here's what the site suggests...
1. if you select a place close to the centre of the city which doesnt have a direct bus, here's what you get "Reach one of three the central bus stations - Kempegowda Bus Stand /Shivajinagar Bus Stand /K R Market and then, take a connecting bus."
2. if you select the kemegowda bus stand, you are offered a couple of options which are of no good (you would reach ITPL in time for lunch). so you select shivajinagar as departure & ITPL as destination. check it out :) "Reach one of the central bus stations - Kempegowda Bus Stand / K R Market and then, take a connecting bus."
3. now select k r market and watch the fun :) "Reach one of the central bus stations - Kempegowda Bus Stand /Shivajinagar Bus Stand and then, take a connecting bus."
:)
then again, wonder how many IT professionals in b'lore depend on BMTC to get around, and how many of them would even bother looking it up here. i for one, tried to depend on it and was pigheaded enough to look it up here :p
i was rather anxious to know how one could get to ITPL from the main city bus stands. here's what the site suggests...
1. if you select a place close to the centre of the city which doesnt have a direct bus, here's what you get "Reach one of three the central bus stations - Kempegowda Bus Stand /Shivajinagar Bus Stand /K R Market and then, take a connecting bus."
2. if you select the kemegowda bus stand, you are offered a couple of options which are of no good (you would reach ITPL in time for lunch). so you select shivajinagar as departure & ITPL as destination. check it out :) "Reach one of the central bus stations - Kempegowda Bus Stand / K R Market and then, take a connecting bus."
3. now select k r market and watch the fun :) "Reach one of the central bus stations - Kempegowda Bus Stand /Shivajinagar Bus Stand and then, take a connecting bus."
:)
then again, wonder how many IT professionals in b'lore depend on BMTC to get around, and how many of them would even bother looking it up here. i for one, tried to depend on it and was pigheaded enough to look it up here :p
Thursday, January 19, 2006
be ma sa sa
thats kannada for BMTC. the city transport system. otherwise known until recent past as rattling tin cans. yeah, they have changed over time now. not all are rattling tin cans anymore. some have graduated to coffins on wheels. kidding. they've got some decently comfy pushpaks and some a/c buses too. have you seen them? nope. sorry! all the IT companies have leased them out!
now this whole thing about experimenting with the bmtc spawned from my cousin's wild idea of making me travel to his place from office. that evening i did wonder why i had the privilege of leaving office early. banashankari to kamannahalli. if my geography serves me right, its like somewhere in south of bangalore to the north east. on the map it looks quite a reasonable distance. but there's that minor issue called "scale" that makes it all so unreasonable! i get the first inkling of distance when i see the ticket. Rs.11. wow! some distance. (strangers note, bus travel in b'lore is quite cheap. so Rs.11 on a ticket means FAAAAR.)
there's an interesting thing one should note about b'lore buses. winning a jackpot in vegas is easier than finding the routes written in english. yes, they do have numbers on them, in english. at times at three different places on the bus; and quite possible, all three different numbers. a flash of ingenuity made them put the number behind the bus. (BEST in mumbai has it in the front and by the door) whats the big idea in putting it behind the bus!? hey dude! this is the bus you just missed! was it the one you were looking for? too bad! there are bus shelters, but not one will you find that tell you the routes that come there. why? search me! but thats a consolation. until a few years back the best way to look for a bus stop was to find a tree with people huddled around it. a chipko movement of sorts :)
anyway, so started my journey spanning the city. you are told the journey time is 45mins. the unit of measurement also varies. what we commonly know as 1 second, lasts for 2 here.
then the passengers too are quite an enthusiastic crowd. bmtc buses dont have a bell. so the conductor needs to whistle (using a whistle or his fingers or just the avian mating call shriek) and the driver gets his cue. so you will find those who've mastered the art of miming the conductor's whistle :) rest is history. of course, there are also those random cases where drunkards wriggle their way in and get thrown out just as religiously!
i am given a landmark to lookout for. a huge watertank. "get off at the stop after the signal once you see this tank" i am told. i spot the tank but in my excitement of finally making it there, forget the other detail. that makes for a healthy evening walk. one that guarantees to work up an enviable appetite.
there's that thing about bangalore neighbourhoods too. almost all lanes & by lanes look alike. i thought i knew my cousin's locality. i see this ad sign "CMR Institutions" and am doubly sure now that i am in his area. the fact that CMR could have a very strong marketing team behind it skips my mind. only to realise that the ad signs appear on more than one road in that area :) i eventually resort to something my chromosome combination forbids me.... ask for directions. what do i do!? i carry a screwed up compass in my head! knocking it doesnt tilt the needle in any which way! and guess what, asking directions does help :)
why didnt i call my cousin? well, i have this thing with cell phone batteries you know... :)
now this whole thing about experimenting with the bmtc spawned from my cousin's wild idea of making me travel to his place from office. that evening i did wonder why i had the privilege of leaving office early. banashankari to kamannahalli. if my geography serves me right, its like somewhere in south of bangalore to the north east. on the map it looks quite a reasonable distance. but there's that minor issue called "scale" that makes it all so unreasonable! i get the first inkling of distance when i see the ticket. Rs.11. wow! some distance. (strangers note, bus travel in b'lore is quite cheap. so Rs.11 on a ticket means FAAAAR.)
there's an interesting thing one should note about b'lore buses. winning a jackpot in vegas is easier than finding the routes written in english. yes, they do have numbers on them, in english. at times at three different places on the bus; and quite possible, all three different numbers. a flash of ingenuity made them put the number behind the bus. (BEST in mumbai has it in the front and by the door) whats the big idea in putting it behind the bus!? hey dude! this is the bus you just missed! was it the one you were looking for? too bad! there are bus shelters, but not one will you find that tell you the routes that come there. why? search me! but thats a consolation. until a few years back the best way to look for a bus stop was to find a tree with people huddled around it. a chipko movement of sorts :)
anyway, so started my journey spanning the city. you are told the journey time is 45mins. the unit of measurement also varies. what we commonly know as 1 second, lasts for 2 here.
then the passengers too are quite an enthusiastic crowd. bmtc buses dont have a bell. so the conductor needs to whistle (using a whistle or his fingers or just the avian mating call shriek) and the driver gets his cue. so you will find those who've mastered the art of miming the conductor's whistle :) rest is history. of course, there are also those random cases where drunkards wriggle their way in and get thrown out just as religiously!
i am given a landmark to lookout for. a huge watertank. "get off at the stop after the signal once you see this tank" i am told. i spot the tank but in my excitement of finally making it there, forget the other detail. that makes for a healthy evening walk. one that guarantees to work up an enviable appetite.
there's that thing about bangalore neighbourhoods too. almost all lanes & by lanes look alike. i thought i knew my cousin's locality. i see this ad sign "CMR Institutions" and am doubly sure now that i am in his area. the fact that CMR could have a very strong marketing team behind it skips my mind. only to realise that the ad signs appear on more than one road in that area :) i eventually resort to something my chromosome combination forbids me.... ask for directions. what do i do!? i carry a screwed up compass in my head! knocking it doesnt tilt the needle in any which way! and guess what, asking directions does help :)
why didnt i call my cousin? well, i have this thing with cell phone batteries you know... :)
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