Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Oct 23: Private bus operators are all set to fleece their customers again as tourists get ready to travel with the Deepavali festival holidays in sight.

Passengers are forced to pay twice or thrice the normal fare to travel to the coastal districts from Bengaluru ahead of the Deepavali festival. Although the government had announced that it would take strict measures against private bus operators to rein in the price of tickets charged by private bus operators, so far no steps have been taken.

People living far away from their home towns are forced to pay double or triple the normal fare to travel by bus during the Deepavali festival holidays.

In such circumstances, it is not possible to file complaints with the transport department and this is enough reason for private tourist bus operators to charge exorbitant fares at will. Private bus operators have already hiked their fares even for those who want to book their tickets online ahead of the Deepavali festival. The same is the case with respect to the return fares for the passengers after they enjoy their holiday.

A cursory look at online booking sites shows that tourists wanting to travel to Mangaluru have to cough up Rs 3,400 for a single ticket from Bengaluru ahead of the festival. While the normal bus fare from Bengaluru to Mangaluru is Rs 1,300, the new festival fare was applicable for those who had booked tickets to travel from October 21. Passengers have to pay the same fare for returning to Bengaluru on or immediately after October 26. 

Many tickets have been booked already and people who do not own vehicles of their own or those who are unable to get tickets from KSRTC are forced to travel in private buses.

Despite the high fares, private bus operators are not offering any additional bus services or additional driver facility. Passengers complain that private bus owners are unnecessarily charging high fares for travel when there is no special facility for the passengers.