Coronavirus Lockdown 4.0: Amidst confusion, KSRTC, BMTC begin bus services

Bus services to different places in Karnataka as well as the city commute service in Bengaluru started on Tuesday morning amidst several hiccups and complaints by passengers.

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For KSRTC, crowd controlling became a big issue even as officials struggled to meet the demand for transport. At Satellite Bus Terminal on Mysore Road, many people travelling towards Mysuru for daily office work came to the station at 7 am only to find the buses towards Mysuru would begin only at 8 am. The bus staffers cited the fact that they have to wait till 30 seats are occupied.

Most of the passengers maintained social distance while police and officials reminded people who jostled together while waiting to board the buses.

As KSRTC has decided to run only 25% of its fleet, the shortage of buses was the main complaint of passengers going to Raichur, Yadgir, Kalaburagi, Belagavi and other districts in northern parts of Karnataka.

BMTC yet to find track

The confusion was abounding among BMTC passengers who stared at buses passing by without stopping at the bus stops. The corporation is operating services on high-density corridors but many people could not board the buses due to the rule that states passes are mandatory to avoid cash transaction.

The Bangalore Metropolitan Corporation (BMC) has said that the passenger number would be limited to seating capacity. Passengers at Kempegowda Bus Station were seen running around asking the traffic managers for buses on specific routes, including some routes where services have not started.