KSRTC starts Service from Mluru to few Destinations- Passengers Turn Out Very Low on First Day
Mangaluru : Finally, their long wait for some of the people in Karnataka State to get back to their native places came today, 19 May 2020, after a few KSRTC buses resumed their services this morning from KSRTC bus stand in Bejai, Mangaluru to places like Bengaluru, Shivamogga, Hubballi and Mysuru. But with no proper information in advance, the passengers turn out was very low on the First day. The first KSRTC bus that started this morning from here was to Bengaluru, with only 30 passengers- and that’s the limit allowed during this lockdown period.
But all these buses plying to Bengaluru, or Mysuru, Hubballi and Shivamogga will not have any stop over in between the start and end point- it will be a direct non-stop service, and the fares are based on it. Even though only 30 passengers could be transported, KSRTC has not increased the fare. Since the lockdown time is between 7 am and 7 pm, the last bus to start from here to Bengaluru will be at 11 am (no buses after that) and to Mysuru, the last bus would be between 11.30 am-12 noon-depending on the seats filled by that time.
But the bad part is that, if the passengers had boarded the bus and the limit of 30 passengers is not reached, KSRTC will refund the ticket money and the passengers have to return back tomorrow. Nothing but hardship and inconveniences for the commuters. A family of 11 people who had packed all their bags, and anxiously waiting to get to their native place-Badami, were out of luck, since there were no 30 passengers traveling to Badami. Even their plea to the KSRTC higher authorities were all in vain- I guess they have have go back or spend the night at the bus stand- but being lockdown restrictions, I doubt they can spend the night at the bus stand. Really a sad situation, which the govt should take a note of it.
No matter which buses start from here to the final destination, they have to reach the end point by 7 pm-therefore the timings to various destinations are scheduled based on the travel time. Today before 10 am, eight buses took off from here to Bengaluru- and all these KSRTC buses are the ordinary red coloured buses, and no semi or AC (Airavaat) buses ply. Speaking to Team Mangalorean, KSRTC Divisional Controller Arun said, “Being the first day today, not many people turned out. We may expect a large crowd tomorrow, and we have the required number of buses ready to ferry the people. At the moment we won’t allow, pregnant women, senior citizens and children below ten to travel in our buses. Right now, we have scheduled services to Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hubballi and Shivamogga from here, and will add other places depending on peoples demand”.
