Facing difficulties to reach the factories, workers in Bengaluru have requested the State Government to resume the state bus service.
10 NGOs have written to the State Government in this regard and urged to resume bus services of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).
In a letter to Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, these NGOs wrote, “We have 6,300 buses. If we deploy all the buses and operate them with physical distancing and ventilation, we can provide safe mobility to the larger public during the pandemic. The second wave and the two-month lockdown have exacerbated the economic crisis faced by the urban poor.”
Garment and Textile Workers’ Union is also one of these NGOs as a large number of workers of garment factories are totally dependent on bus service to reach the factories. NGOs also want BMTC bus fares to be reduced.
It is also pertinent to mention here that on average a garment worker pays Rs. 600- 900 for bus fare, every month, to commute from his/her home to factory. Few of the workers have started using cycle to save this money as it is around 8 to 10 per cent of their wage.
“We demand that the tickets be priced at one or two fixed/flat fare slabs… so that essential transport is more affordable to those who have lost their jobs or have had no income for the past two months,” the statement said.
“Commuters must be compensated for the April bus pass as it could not be used because of the strike.”
