Kundapur-Udupi KSRTC express buses suffer from teething trouble

Silvester D’Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (SP)

Kundapur, Jun 15: The long-awaited public demand to introduce KSRTC express buses between Udupi and Kundapur has been met since the last two days. Both the buses that have been pressed into service are experiencing shortage of passengers for different reasons. There is a suspicion that KSRTC is succumbing to the pressure of the private bus operators lobby.

It is observed that the private bus agents are not allowing the government buses to pick up passengers anywhere between the new bus stand and Shastri Circle, whereas private buses have no such restriction. While private buses are allowed to wait at Shastri Circle for two minutes on an average, KSRTC buses are forced to move ahead within a minute by the time keepers. There are occasions in which the passengers who approach government buses are physically pulled away by bus agents towards private buses.

Now the situation has become so worse that government buses hardly get an opportunity or space to park at Shastri Circle and pick up passengers. One of the disadvantages of the KSRTC buses is that their boards are very old, which make it difficult for the commuters to find out where they go. When contacted, manager of the depot here denies that government buses are facing any problems in halting, moving, or passenger pickup.

Although some complaints have been received from the general public, the passengers suspect that the depot manager has been sitting on them and appears to be supporting the private bus lobby by claiming that passengers are not showing an inclination to board government buses and hence they face acute shortage of passengers.

In normal course, an express bus takes around 45 minutes to cover the distance between Kundapur and Udupi.  But KSRTC bus timetable shows that it needs around one hour to travel between these two places, although it stops only at Saligrama and Brahmavar! This unscientific timetable is one of the lacunae found in the operation of government buses.

As per the schedule of KSRTC, it should have run three buses, route NO. 11, 112, and 35, on this route. These buses should have completed 15 to and fro trips between these two destinations from 7 am to 4.50 pm. But the fact that only two buses are provided, and that they too have been completing only three to four trips, has given rise to genuine doubts about their intention among the locals.

Initially, the people were happy that the government has entered the fray, and hoped of getting a better journey experience on this route. “The fact that no officials or others have bothered about the government buses being made to trail private buses, and also followed by other buses, has given rise to concerns.  There are clear indications that the cherished dream of the deputy commissioner of the district will remain so,” says president of Vinayaka Stand Auto Drivers Association president, Mahesh Kini. 

Kenchanur Somashekhar Shetty, convener of ‘Kundapura Ulisi’ action committee, notes that at present no super express (non-stop) buses are plying on this route. He has suggested for converting the government express buses into non-stop buses in order to obviate harassment from private buses, and to escape from losses they are incurring at present.