HOHO Bus Service

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Tagged: BMTC, HOHO | Posted by RoshaN at 14-02-2009 10:57:22

I gather that the HOHO Bus Service in the CBD has not gotten off to a flying start. I suspect that people aren't aware of this service. What can be done to get more people to use this service? My suggestions are below 1. Market the bus service to people. In papers, radio and hoardings in bus stops. 2. I don't know if people understand the HOHO concept. Tickets are priced at Rs 10 and they can keep using this bus service through the day. I think people need to be educated about this 3. Use the Shops and Malls to sell these tickets. Maybe come up with a weekend shopping spree tickets and advertise it as such. 4. Change the colors of the buses so that people recognise the HOHO service buses from normal Volvo service. 5. On weekends, start charging somekind of congestion fee for entering the CBD in private vehicles. Or maybe increase the parking charges on the CDB roads during weekends. BBMP will need to draw up a proper parking plan with no corruption though.

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Tagged: | Posted by Anand Nayak at 19-02-2009 12:41:52

I think marketing is the most important point here. People need to know where exactly these buses go and this need to be published via new papers and hand out to people standing at bus stop and other public places. Not every one would bother to search these routes on the internet. Other thing, I feel is, that they should be more user friendly. I haven’t had a chance to HO-HO on any such bus yet but looking at the maps and discussion it appears that the bus stops are still referred by landmarks like Mayo hall, Cash pharmacy etc. These may work fine for local residents but any one coming from out side may not necessarily know all of these. Instead stops can probably be marked as numbers, like for clockwise it can be C1, C2 etc and for anti-clockwise A1, A2…A10. So if I need to ask some one to meet or give address of my shop/office in CBD, I just tell him/her to climb a Clockwise or anti-clockwise bus and get down at C4 or A10. There should be good enough parking space at the edges of CBD boundary so that we can park our vehicles there and then happily Ho-Ho around 

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Tagged: BIG-10, HO-HO | Posted by Ashok N at 20-03-2009 16:36:45

Ho-Ho is a very good concept. It would be a tragedy if it fails due to lack of publicity. I would also support the idea of congestion tax on Weekends for private vehicles. This will achieve the twin benefits that less private vehicles on Weekends and more awareness of Ho-Ho and BIG10 buses. Also HO-HO bus route needs a little changes to include Cantonment station, Shivaji Nagar, and Shantinagar bus stand. I thin HO-HO will be a big hit then. All the Best!! Can you also publish the BIG 10 bus routes? Ashok

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Tagged: HO-HO | Posted by Narendra Kumar at 24-03-2009 15:24:59

I think, it is not picking up because of lack of advertisement. I learnt about HO-HO service, while searching for some information in the Internet. BMTC has got so many buses and bus stops. They can use that space to advertise about new initiatives and also educate the public.

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Tagged: | Posted by VRV at 20-04-2009 17:12:29

HOHO seems to be a workable service. A few suggestions , some are specific and some are not: 1. Awareness of HOHO can be stepped up.I have seen many people walk long ways to board a BMTC service, may be it is just an issue of awareness. 2. Can we motivate VOLVO users to hop in to HOHO by some linked up incentives?When there is no connectivity they hop onto Auto instead of HOHO or they may 3. Needless to mention a safe pedestrian crossing with traffic signals, zebra markings and a pavement (need not be elaborative but basic transit necessities are to be designed for)which eases their struggle while transfer. 4. ARe all the busstops having a board of display regarding the bus service? I could locate only a few. 5. Orange line can stop at East Parade too,(like blue line) so that commuters along Dickenson Road towards MG Road as well the commuters on MG road between Mayo Hall and Trinity stands to gain.

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Tagged: | Posted by Madhu Soman at 15-05-2009 13:49:21

The HOHO service is a good initiative by BMTC to encourage use of public transport. However, we need to make some stringent rules to achieve the desired results. It's saddening to see these buses operate empty. What is needed is to impose a small levy on private vehicles, particularly cars, running within the CBD. But before that we need to ensure that there are enough space for parking private vehicles so that users can park their vehicles and use the HOHO service.

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Tagged: | Posted by VRV at 23-06-2009 15:07:02

1.Looks like the HOHO routes have been changed and many services reduced. Is there an update? 2. Amongst the few running ones (Orange Line) it is surprising to note that the buses do not even touch Brigade junction, MG Road en route Shivaji Nagar? Looks like the feedback concludes unpopularity , however no major steps were taken on awareness , reliable service and convenient transfer points for people who move for work, for people who wish to commute by HOHO. Makes me wonder 'What has been the purpose of HOHO?'- 'for whom'?

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Tagged: http://sumanbhat.wordpress.com | Posted by Suman Bhat at 17-07-2009 17:53:01

Has the HOHO service been discontinued? I saw one of the orange line buses running a different route. I think the HOHO was a great initiative that didn't take off because of lack of awareness and poor execution. I had the chance to use the service a couple of times. Other than the lack of publicity, the route planning could also have been better. Also, the frequency of HOHO buses was far too low. Nobody wants to wait 20 mins to catch a bus for a 4km ride. Another drawback was the (relatively) steep fares. It might have been worth trying non-AC HOHO buses at lower fares. I hope the service comes back. Really looking forward to riding on those Blue and Orange Line buses again, they were fun :)

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Tagged: BMTC, HOHO-bus | Posted by Mahesh N at 28-07-2009 15:55:51

I think HOHO was a great concept, but INR 30 A/c buses was a mistake. The following would work better: 1. Stripped down bus with benches for seats & large luggage spaces 2. Cost at Rs.10/- 3. Accept passes 4. Write all stops on sides of buses in English & kannada and direction of bus (like in Chennai buses) - not just at boards in bus stops General public seem to assume Volvo are for the richer public and do not even bother asking conductor. Richer public do not know the stops it would go to and not bother.

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