Commuters: ATM kiosk at bus terminus a boon

HUBLI: The next time you go to the Old bus terminus, you may see a long line of people. Nothing unusual at a bus terminus one might say. But this queue of people is waiting to withdraw money from the ATM set up there.
The IDBI Bank had set up a kiosk at the Old bus terminus last week. Within a week of installing it, hundreds of people have transacted there, said Hanumanth, the security guard at the kiosk.After the attack on a woman at an ATM in Bangalore a couple of months ago, banks have been asked to post guards at all ATMs.
Commuters are happy that they don't have to go far in search of an ATM. This is echoed by Rajendra Bhosle, a commuter. He said: "I travel to Gadag regularly. I do not carry much money as I have a bus pass. But if I needed money I had to cross the road or go by the flyover to find an ATM leaving my bus behind. Whenever I had to go to an ATM located outside the terminus, I would miss the bus. It will be helpful to commuters if a couple more ATM kiosks are set up at the terminus.''
Ramu Pande, a commuter, said that it is a boon for students too. "Students come here to take their bus passes. Having an ATM next to the bus pass issuing counter helps them,'' he said.
He added: "Long-distance travellers sometimes have to request the driver to halt the bus for some time till they locate an ATM and withdraw cash from it. But now they won't have this tension.''
Ravindra Lokapur, branch manager, IDBI, said: "We want to reach to the people. This was an opportunity for us. We are getting a good response. We plan to set up another ATM kiosk at the terminus within a couple of months.''
A S R Namazi, senior divisional controller, NWKRTC, said an ATM at the bus terminus was a long-felt need of the people.