Good morning, Bengaluru!
☁️ Today’s weather: Generally cloudy for today, with some light rain possible.
🧐 Did you know? Bengaluru-based founder of the Mountaineering Club Neeraj Malve’s daughters are the world’s youngest certified scuba diver siblings. They’re 10 and 13 years old.
🛍️ Mall of Asia
Phoenix Mall of Asia will be the city’s latest shopping and entertainment destination.
What’s it about? Located in the Hebbal area, the Phoenix Mall of Asia will be open to the public on October 20. It’ll offer a wide variety of shopping and entertainment options.
- Spread over 13 acres, the mall will have several shops ranging from apparel brands to high-end labels. The mall comprises a five-storey retail building with two basement and five upper floors.
- The mall includes a 15-screen multiplex, a tiered atrium, restaurants, cafes, and the Eden Arcadia on the ground floor. There’ll also be an Eco Earth section with natural greenery.
Design: The interiors will be champagne-coloured with grey marble floors and dazzling crystals.
🚌 Good response for feeder buses
The metro feeder bus service from KR Pura station to Central Silk Road has received a good response.
What’s it about? The buses, operated by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), have received a good response from professionals who work along the Outer Ring Road (ORR). Companies have been encouraged to ask their employees to shift to public transport.
- The buses operate at a five-minute frequency during peak hours and eight minutes during non-peak hours. Over 10,000 passengers are using the service, helping generate ₹2.2 lakh as revenue. The BMTC is running 22 schedules on the 18-km route.
- The service was launched as a part of the Private2Public campaign. There’s also a feeder bus from the KR Pura metro station to Marathahalli, Kundalahalli, and Garudacharpalya.
Making money: The Kadugodi–Marathahalli via Graphite India feeder service is used by about 3,200 people daily and generates a revenue of ₹38,000. The Kadugodi-Marathahalli via Siddapura feeder service has a daily ridership of 2,800 and generates ₹32,000 in revenue.
🅿️ Parking facility delays
The BBMP’s proposal for a multi-level parking facility at Freedom Park continues to be delayed.
What’s the story so far? The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) took up building a multi-level parking facility at Freedom Park in 2017 with a 2018 completion date. The BBMP has been issuing short-term tender notifications since last October.
- The project was taken up by the BBMP projects department and later moved to its traffic engineering cell. The latest tender notification was on October 16, inviting bidders to operate and maintain the facility for 10 years.
- The previous tenders by the BBMP projects department saw no response. The latest bid by the traffic engineering cell was the eighth attempt by the BBMP to invite bidders.
Facility features: The parking facility will have electric vehicle charging stations. There was also a proposal for electric buggies to ferry people from the facility to nearby shopping districts on KG Road and elsewhere.
🚲 Cycle docks at metro stations
There are plans to have bicycle docking points at 10 metro stations.
What’s it about? The Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) has proposed bicycle docking points at 10 metro stations in the city. Cyclists have welcomed the move since they’ve long demanded a separate parking space.
- The identified stations are Baiyappanahalli, Mahakavi Kuvempu Road, Rajajinagar, Mahalakshmi, Peenya, Nagasandra, Jayanagar, Yelachenahalli, Konankunte Cross, and Swami Vivekananda Road.
- The docking point at the Baiyappanahalli station has been installed and is awaiting an overhead shelter. Data from the climate action platform AltMo showed only 36 stations in the city have parking spaces. Most don’t have designated ones for cycles.
Last-mile connectivity: There’s also demand from people to use normal cycles for first and last-mile connectivity. Currently, the Bengaluru Metro only allows foldable cycles onto the coaches. However, since passengers have complained of overcrowding, there won’t be any plans for normal cycles anytime soon.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you travelled in an Electric Vehicle?
- I have travelled in an Electric Vehicle.
- I haven’t travelled in an Electric Vehicle.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What’s your favourite mall in the city?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Activists were horrified by the state of Varthur Lake after discovering scores of dead fish.
- Bengaluru Metro has slowed down the construction of a skywalk linking the KR Pura metro and railway stations.
- Accidents involving BMTC buses are due to drivers facing work pressures and no investment in maintenance.
- Kalyana Karnataka will get its first dedicated train to Bengaluru.
- For Navaratri, here is a list of the top 5 Navaratri vrat thalis in the city.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I had a computer at home during my schooling years: 69.2% 🏆
- I did not have a computer at home during my schooling years: 30.8%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
How old were you when you got your first computer?
Dharna: “!2 years old”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!