What Sachit Thinks

In my series on Getting Around in Bangalore , here’s perhaps the oldest form of public transport – the Bus.  Here’s some history - buses were first launched in Bangalore in 1940 under the branding of Bangalore Transport Company (BTC), to later assume the name of Bangalore Transport Service (BTS) in  1962 and then on to being called Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) in 1997. For many of my generation (in their late 40s), BTS was the standard way of addressing buses. Kannadigas will also fondly recall the alternate full form of ( biTTre thirga sikkalla – ask your localite friend for translation!). For some reason, BMTC (or for that matter BTS or BTC) has never been able to assume the role of being Bangalore’s go-to for public transport. I know many people who have never set foot in a BMTC bus, even though they were born here. But it remains an important cog in the wheel of moving around in Bangalore.  Of late, I’ve been using buses a l...