Daijiworld Media Network- Mangaluru (VP)

Mangaluru, Feb 22: "The Dakshina Kannada Bus Operators' Association (DKBOA) has always stood behind the school children and supported them. We are moving towards a brighter future, and in order to achieve that, we had already launched the Chalo Card for our buses. However, we understood that people were facing lots of problems because of that. Hence, we have introduced a new DKBOA card, which will be more convenient for students to use. I also want to emphasize that students who don't have cash or cards with them will not be humiliated and should be allowed to travel free of charge," said Azeez Parthipadi, president of the DKBOA, on Thursday, February 21.

Additionally, in consideration of elderly customers, the association decided to relocate their office from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor. The event will be attended by prominent figures including Speaker U T Khader, MLA Vedvyas Kamath, MLC Manjunath Bhandary, mayor Sudhir Kumar Shetty, deputy commissioner Mullai Muhilan, police commissioner Anupam Agarwal, DySP B P Dinesh Kumar, as well as bus and garage owners.

When questioned about the impact of the Shakti scheme on the City bus business and the future outlook for Mangaluru's city buses, Azeez Parthipadi remarked, "We are encountering numerous challenges, and the situation has changed drastically. It's becoming increasingly difficult to sustain our operations. We face stiff competition from KSRTC buses, and their tax regulations differ significantly from ours. Moreover, we have to bear the burden of higher insurance premiums and soaring diesel prices."

On the issues caused by DJ songs being played in buses, Ramachandra Pillai responded, "We are aware of these concerns, and we will address them promptly. We will draft a letter to the relevant parties, emphasizing that this practice is unacceptable, and take necessary steps to resolve the problem."

When asked about the number of students utilizing cards versus the city bus facility, Azeez Parthipadi stated, “Approximately 34,000 students utilize the city bus service annually. This figure is derived from the number of applications received thus far for the Chalo Card and DKBOA card, excluding renewals.”

Rajesh Talapady was present.