Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru (MS)

Bengaluru, Aug 28: Usually KSRTC used to operate additional bus services during major Hindu festivals. However, this year additional buses have been reduced to a third of the regular services.

In the ticket booking website not a single normal transport bus (red coloured ones) is available. Most of the additional services that have been pressed into service as festival special buses are the luxurious buses. Their fares have been hiked by 20%. Passengers going to Hubballi, Mangaluru and Belagavi have to shell out an additional Rs 150 to 200 to buy a ticket. This stance of KSRTC has given a free hand to private buses to go for the kill from passengers and make money.

In the past few years KSRTC used to deploy 1500 additional buses during Ganesha festival, Dasara and Deepavali for passengers leaving to other parts of the state from Bengaluru. However, this year only 500 buses have been made available as specials.

Not a single normal red bus is available to Bidar, Bagalkot and Yadagiri districts on August 29 and 30. Only one or two luxury buses are scheduled. So the passengers of North Karnataka have to invariably take private buses to reach their destinations.

The KSRTC officials say that online booking is not available for Northwest and Kalyana Karnataka transport corporations.

The actual fare of Airavata luxury bus to Mangaluru from Bengaluru is Rs 809. But, during the festival the same has been increased to Rs 959. For Hubballi, the fare of AC sleeper has been hiked from Rs 880 to Rs 1045 and for non AC sleeper from Rs 726 to Rs 900. Airavata is costing Rs 859 against the non-season price of Rs 760.

On the whole, people of outstation districts, living in the capital city are put in jeopardy due to the lacklustre attitude of KSRTC. Public are accusing that private bus lobby might be hand in glove with the KSRTC officials to reap more profits during the festive season.