KSRTC gears up to handle New Year rush
From December 24, the KSRTC shifted to top gear to meet the increasing travel demands of its passengers.
While the Corporation was forced to add 150 extra inter state and 250 extra intra state buses to meet passengers’ needs during the Christmas weekend, officials say bookings are rather low for the New Year weekend compared to previous years.
Only 30 additional vehicles originating from Bangalore will be deployed between Friday and Sunday, while 65 extra return vehicles have already been deputed for January 1.
KSRTC Divisional Controller Ashok Kumar attributes the fall in passenger traffic during New Year to it being a weekend.
“Majority of the return bookings for January 1 are from those who have been on a week-long vacation from Christmas eve. As the New Year falls on a Sunday this year, many are not travelling long distances,” he said.
For January 2, around 20 additional return vehicles have been deployed. “Every weekend KSRTC increases bus services for both intra and inter state destinations.
So, the New Year rush is like the regular weekend rush for us,” Kumar added.
Majority of the additional buses are bound for Kerala and Tamil Nadu, apart from Goa and Gokarna. The KSRTC has pushed up ticket fare for Maharashtra and Goa-bound Volvo Multi Axle Service by almost 30 per cent from the Christmas weekend.
With the Majestic bus terminal receiving about four lakh footfalls during weekends and almost five lakh on public holidays, the KSRTC has shifted about 350 services to Shanti Nagar BMTC bus station from December 28 to handle the rush at Majestic.
KBS Divisional Controller Prakash Babu adds that KSRTC has shifted many services out of Majestic also due to the ongoing Metro construction.
“As the space reduces and passengers keep increasing we find it very difficult to continue smooth operations. But we are handling things very well,” he said.
Passengers can book tickets online by logging on to www.ksrtc.in. Mobile booking can be done by sending an SMS to 56767.
