Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Sep 3: At a time when coronavirus-related problems have delivered a deadly blow to all sections of the people, private buses have jacked up the ticket prices. This has opened up a big gap between the ticket rates of private and government buses. People therefore have been opting to travel by government buses as it saves money at this crucial time.

In the past, a meeting of organizations and institutions and people's representatives used to be held before the proposed bus fare hike was affected. Normally, these meetings never approved of the hike as proposed. Still, the fares usually went up by ten to fifteen rupees depending on the distance covered. This time, the fare hike has been affected in the guise of lockdown. In certain cases, the hike is as high as 50 percent.

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The workers who resumed work after the lockdown were in for a shock as the minimum fare of eight rupees had been increased to Rs 12. Travel by private bus from Mudipu to Mangaluru costs Rs 33 but in a government bus, people can travel this distance for Rs 19. Fare from Thokottu to Mangaluru is Rs 18 in private buses and Rs 11 in KSRTC buses.

The arbitrary hike in ticket fares has given rise to a chorus for extending government bus services on several routes. For example, Pavoor gram panchayat member Valerian D'Souza, said that the panchayat had long back written to KSRTC to begin bus services to Innoli in Pavoor gram panchayat. He said that the issue will be followed up further. Kamal Kumar, KSRTC traffic division, says that about 25 buses are doing local trips now and that demand for buses on other routes cannot be met for now. He says that the RTO permit is necessary for running the buses in the city.