A bus a minute, and sometimes just a passenger a bus

The passenger, wanting to get on one of those “last” seats left, gets on to the bus only to see that she or he is one of the very few passengers aboard.

On some days, many buses ply either way with just a handful of passengers. “Sometimes it is just a couple of passengers,” says a driver-conductor, that two-in-one combination of KSRTC staff introduced by the corporation to save money, and make operations more efficient. Another recalls that he had operated a trip with just one passenger some time ago.

With a total 1,372 trips between Bangalore and Mysore, which makes it a bus connecting the two cities every other minute, the KSRTC claims it is running the operations with a fair profit. The fares range between Rs 91 to Rs 250 for different buses. The number of trips increases considerably during special occasions and holidays.

The huge number of trips by KSRTC between the two cities is in addition to 21 trains that run on the busiest route in the State, ferrying a huge number of passengers between the two prime cities. So how does KSRTC make a profit, then? According to Senior Divisional Controller of Mysore Rural Division, G Prakash, the coaches are packed on weekends and Monday mornings.

“Even if we run a bus with less passengers on weekdays, it evens out on weekends, for all the trips run full. And during important festivals and Dasara, we have to put more buses on the road,” he says.

According to KSRTC statistics, on an average, about 28 people travel between the two cities on each trip. Private buses do not operate on the route, as they cannot match either the fare or the comfort offered by the KSRTC.

Few buses leave the bus stand at either point between 1 am and 5 am. The number increases every hour after that, with heavy inflow of passengers up to 8 am. After which, the frequency of buses comes down and so does the number of passengers. Buses that start from Bangalore bus stand in the evening carry the most passengers to Mysore till 8 pm.

Peak days

There is a pattern to passengers travelling by the KSRTC buses, too. Trade and high job rate are among the reasons that make Bangalore and Mysore the most frequently connected cities in the State.

Sunday preferred

Most passengers prefer travelling between Bangalore and Mysore on Sundays, Mondays, Saturdays. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are lean days. The number of passengers comes down drastically on ‘Amavasya’ day, which according to local customs is not auspicious for travelling.

The numbers

*1,372 are the total trips a day
* 686 buses leave Mysore every day
* 40 Volvo buses at Rs 250 a ticket
* 34 Sheetal buses at Rs 140
* 22 Meghadoot at Rs 175
* 26 Rajahamsa at Rs 149
* 12 Ambari at Rs 200
* 456 Karnataka Saarige buses carry a passenger for Rs 91 to Satellite Bus Stand on Mysore Road and Rs 95 to Kempe Gowda Bus Stand