Private buses hike fare 3X in the guise of festival!

• KSRTC decides to teach private bus operators a lesson

Mangaluru: During Deepavali and other festive seasons, the private buses owners charge their passengers three to four times the normal ticket price and the government has been unhelpful in initiating legal actions against the private players. However, the government has now come up with an alternative solution of deputing additional KSRTC buses and thereby teaching the private bus owners a lesson.

In the backdrop of Deepavali festival, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has decided to give tough competition by deploying additional buses along the routes wherein the private bus are making use of passenger demand as an excuse to extort money by drastically increasing the ticket fares. This decision was informed to ‘Udayavani’ by Transport Minister D C Tammayya.

A few private buses have increased their advance ticket fares by three times because of which it is becoming very expensive for the passengers to return back from their hometown. The Transport Department has taken this seriously and hence, has decided to operate hundreds of additional buses in Dakshina Kannada (DK) and Udupi districts. In that too, priority has been given to the operation of luxury buses.

Every day, more than 350 buses travel from Mangaluru KSRTC division (3 division in Mangaluru, one each in Kundapur and Udupi). Similarly, almost 500 buses travel from Puttur division (Puttur, BC Road, Dharmasthala, Madikeri, Sullia). Now, as it is the Deepavali festive season, KSRTC has decided to additionally operate more than 100 buses at both divisions. According to the passenger density, even more additional buses will be pressed into operation.

Private buses increase fares by 3 times

Many people from Karavali live in Bengaluru and as they are preparing to return back, a few private buses have increased their bus fares by three times to their normal fares. Normally, private buses charge Rs 750 fare from Mangaluru-Bengaluru, but on November 11^th, a few private buses are charging a fare of Rs 2,400. In the state, KSRTC buses which ply through their daily routes do not charge any additional fares during the festive season. But, the fares of the additional buses pressed into action will be increased by a mere 5 to 10%.

Let the government decide the fares

A spokesperson for Canara Bus Owners Association Sadananda Cahtra spoke with ‘Udayavani’ and said that a few buses are charging additional fares during the festive season. The state government must come forward to set a specific rate for contract carriage/private buses otherwise it will not be possible for the bus owners association to set a specific rate. But the private bus owners in our association increase their fares by only 20% during festive seasons. Other than the members, a few bus owners increase their fares by three times, he explains.

Higher demand on November 11^th

People coming to their hometowns from far off places have already booked in advance their return tickets and on November 11^th, there will be a greater rush at Mangaluru and Puttur division. This is so because, most of the people finish their festivities and prefer to return back on November 11^th, due to which there will be a slight increase in the passenger density, say KSRTC officials.

Additional buses

“During the festive season, private buses charge additional fares and this cannot be stopped by the Transport Department. But, this time we will be operating additional buses from various parts of the district. In that too, we are providing more importance for luxury buses. The fares on additional buses will be increased only by a mere 5-10%,” informed D C Tammanna, State Transport Minister.

Article by Naveen Bhat Ilanthil translated into English by Aaron Dmello