KSRTC fails to popularise Hop On Hop Off buses

Five buses are covering several tourist spots in city at present

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), which launched Hop On/Hop Off (HOHO) buses for the convenience of tourists in the heritage city, has failed to promote the same after Dasara.

The city which is abuzz with tourists round the year has no cheap transportaion to ferry travellers from one spot to another. Last year, during Dasara celebrations, KSRTC, in association with Tourism department introduced HOHO buses to ply exclusively to tourist spots in Mysore throughout the day.

Though the service received overwhelming response during Dasara, it has not popularised after the event.

H M Ramesh, Divisional Traffic Controller (City Division) speaking to Deccan Herald said that during Dasara, 12 buses including Volvos were launched for HOHO services. In the month of November, the number of buses to reduced to five, as owing to lack of awareness of the facility, there were hardly any takers for the same. 

As the regular bus users are also opting for the bus service, KSRTC is not incurring any losses, he said. Ramesh added that each trip covers 20 kms radius. There are 25 trips everyday and buses run up to 1,000 kms. 

There are no special passes for the service. “One can use regular pass to travel in these buses,” he added.

One of the HOHO bus driver under condition of anonymity said that sometimes all the routes are not covered as per the schedule, as there are no passengers.

Tourists can avail the facility at City Bus Stand (CBS). It is also known as ‘route no-100’. The buses pass through each tourist spot every 15 to 30 minutes.