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Karnataka minister rides Bengaluru bus incognito to understand commuters' issues
Following the minister’s experience, BMTC managing director Raghunandan Murthy directed drivers and conductors to treat passengers with courtesy and respect
- PUBLISHED: Mon 13 Jul 2026, 1:44 PM
Bus passengers in Bengaluru often complain about the shoddy manner in which conductors deal with them. To understand their problems, Byrathi Suresh, who became the Transport Minister of Karnataka last month, decided to travel incognito in several buses and interacted with the staff and passengers.
Sporting a face mask to conceal his identity, Suresh caught a Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus operating on the Hebbal-Nagashettihalli route. He gave the conductor a Rs100 note for two tickets he bought.
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The conductor asked for the exact amount of Rs12, and showed his empty bag revealing he did not have the change. He also asked the minister to get off the bus at the next stop if he could not give the money. The minister did so and boarded another bus.
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The driver of the second bus sped past a stop, ignoring a passenger who wanted to board it. The minister immediately intervened, revealing his identity and asked senior officials to suspend the driver and the conductor. But they later told senior officials that they ignored the person as he was not waiting at the bus stop and was stopping in the middle.
"Conducted a surprise field inspection by travelling on BMTC buses across Bengaluru to assess commuter experience firsthand,” the minister posted on ‘X’. “Ensuring safe, reliable and accountable public transport remains our highest priority.”
Following the minister’s experience, BMTC managing director Raghunandan Murthy directed drivers and conductors to treat passengers with courtesy and respect.
The Karnataka government earlier launched its ‘Shakti scheme’ offering free travel on buses to 30 million women travellers across the state. The government plans to buy 5,000 new buses to strengthen public transport services.
Commuters in the city and other parts of the state frequently complain about the terrible state of bus stops, many of which have broken benches and garbage littered around.
Several autorickshaws also block the path of the buses, which have to halt far from the stops. The BMTC has told conductors to ask passengers to use the hugely popular UPI payments, which are available on electronic ticketing machines.
The massive expansion of Bengaluru, the traffic snarls and the resulting chaos on the roads has seen millions of commuters suffer in India’s IT capital.
A few months back a software engineer, who travels frequently on buses, posted on social media about "Bengaluru public transport + return to office = certified insanity".
"The buses are packed beyond capacity - people literally falling on each other,” he wrote. “The driver looks like he's five seconds away from quitting, and the conductor treats you like you owe him rent. This is not commuting. This is survival. Everyone's angry, sweaty, and silently screaming. Public transport in Bengaluru isn't for the weak - it's a team-building exercise for introverts, a cardio session for the brave, and a lesson in patience for all."
