The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is a public sector undertaking owned by the Government of Karnataka that operates the public bus transport service in the city of Bengaluru and its surrounding metropolitan region. It is one of the largest urban bus transport operators in India and serves as the principal mode of road-based public transport in the Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural districts.
| Type | State-owned public sector undertaking |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public road transport |
| Headquarters | Shanthinagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India |
| Area served | Bengaluru metropolitan region |
| Owner | Government of Karnataka |
| Parent | Transport Department, Government of Karnataka |
| Predecessor | Bangalore Transport Service (BTS), a unit of KSRTC |
BMTC operates city and suburban bus services across Bengaluru, connecting residential neighbourhoods, commercial districts, educational institutions, transport terminals such as the Kempegowda International Airport and the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (Bengaluru) Railway Station, and outlying towns within the metropolitan area. It runs a mix of ordinary, express, air-conditioned, and feeder services, including the Vajra (airport-linked premium service) and the Vayu Vajra airport shuttle network.
City bus operations in Bengaluru were earlier managed as the Bangalore Transport Service (BTS), a city division of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). With the rapid growth of Bengaluru as a major industrial and information technology hub, the city division was carved out as a separate corporation to focus exclusively on intra-city and suburban operations. BMTC was constituted in 1997 under the Road Transport Corporations Act, 1950.
BMTC's network is structured around a series of Traffic and Transit Management Centres (TTMCs) and bus stations located across the city, including major hubs at Kempegowda Bus Station (Majestic), Shivajinagar, K. R. Market, Shantinagar, Jayanagar, Banashankari, Yeshwanthpur, and Whitefield. The corporation operates several depots that house and maintain its fleet.
Service categories include:
BMTC is administered by a Board of Directors, with a Managing Director, usually an officer of the Indian Administrative Service, as its chief executive. The Transport Minister of Karnataka serves as the chairperson of the corporation. Operationally, the network is divided into several zones, each headed by a Chief Traffic Manager or equivalent officer.
As Bengaluru's primary surface public transport operator, BMTC plays a central role in urban mobility in one of India's most populous and rapidly expanding metropolitan areas. It complements the Namma Metro rail network operated by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) by providing first- and last-mile connectivity, and it is a key stakeholder in the city's integrated transport planning, including initiatives by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT).