02 February,2011 06:22 AM IST | | Bindiya Carmeline Thomas
On the fourth day of every month since February 2010, BMTC along with MiD DAY has been encouraging residents of Bangalore to abandon their two-wheelers and four-wheelers and take buses to their respective destinations instead.
S Vishwanath, general secretary, ORRCA (Outer Ring Road Companies Association), who helped make the event a success, said, "Bus day has been useful in terms of the awareness it has created among users of bus services in the past year. More youngsters and working professionals were roped in as the months passed.
What started off as a once-a-month event has created a ripple effect and we as passengers ought to embrace public transport provided by the government for our benefit."
He added that the last year was fruitful with the conversion of working professionals from the IT industry into bus users, and hope that the coming year will be even more productive.
Akshay Heblikar, founder of Eco Watch, said, "The effect on the environment has been tremendous. Carbon emission levels dropped to a good number even though it is just for one day in every month."
He added that excessive pollution is released into the atmosphere everyday and with this initiative people have a way of curbing it.
Syed Zameer Pasha, director, BMTC, said, "The initiative has caused awareness and more people now realise the benefits of taking BMTC buses and how easy it can be to travel."
He added that taking the bus was cost effective and comfortable at the same time reduced the impact of pollution on the environment.
7% of the IT industry converted to bus users
4,000 The number of cars off the road in Electronic City
