What does Sarathi do for Bengaluru public transport?
Sarathi is an independent Bengaluru transit companion. Give it an origin and destination and it is designed to compare BMTC bus, Namma Metro and walking options together, instead of assuming one mode is always best. It is published by AUMLayer Cloud Labs LLP and is not an official BMTC, BMRCL or government service.
1. BMTC buses
The current public dataset contains 4,381 BMTC route patterns. Sarathi uses route number, direction, headsign, stop sequence and scheduled times to make a bus option understandable before you board.
A useful direct bus stays visible even when a transfer itinerary is a little faster. For a bus-focused explanation, see the BMTC bus journey planner guide.
2. Namma Metro
The current public count is 85 Namma Metro stations. Sarathi treats Metro as part of a full trip: reaching a station, making any interchange, leaving the destination station and walking the final distance all matter.
The Metro dataset currently used by Sarathi is a provisional community snapshot and is documented with its limitations. See the Namma Metro journey planner guide and data-source notes.
3. Walking access is part of the journey
A route is not door-to-door if it ignores how you reach the stop or station. Sarathi uses a Bengaluru OpenStreetMap-based walking graph prepared for OpenTripPlanner so the access walk can be considered alongside ride and transfer time.
This is why the nearest Metro station is not automatically the best answer: a slightly longer walk to a better-connected stop, or a direct bus from the correct side of the road, may produce a simpler trip.
4. Compare the trade-off, not one “magic” route
Sarathi keeps five planner views in sight: Fastest, Shortest route, Likely cheapest, Fewest changes and Direct bus. “Likely cheapest” is only a ranking; Sarathi does not display ticket prices and does not sell tickets.
The purpose is to show what changes when you prefer fewer transfers, a direct bus, less walking or a shorter overall journey. The bus + Metro + walking guide explains this multimodal comparison in more detail.
5. Scheduled does not mean live
Sarathi uses five explicit states: Scheduled, Typical, Cached, Live and Unavailable. A timetable value stays Scheduled. A time is labelled Live only when a fresh, authorised realtime feed is actually connected.
Read the data freshness and time-label methodology or the shorter label reference.
6. Independent of the transport operators
Sarathi is a product of AUMLayer Cloud Labs LLP. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by BMTC or BMRCL. Operator names, route numbers and station names are used so travellers can recognise public transport services.
For source provenance and attribution, see Data sources. For current app availability, see Launch status.