'Chigari' passengers rise by over 3 times in initial week

'Chigari' buses, considered to be the lifeline of public transport between Hubballi and Dharwad, and State's first Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), ferried only less than 2,000 passengers when the service resumed after a gap of over two months of COVID-19 lockdown, on June 5, and this number was only near 2 per cent of the total number of 'Chigari' passengers per day some five months back.

After a week into its operations beginning, with only few more people coming out for essential works during Unlock 1.0, the number of passengers in 'Chigari' buses has increased to 6,500 daily till Wednesday, bringing just about Rs 1.50 lakh revenue.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly one lakh people used to travel in 'Chigari' buses daily, and the revenue was upto Rs 9 lakh per day, the officials say.

"We take up thermal screening, mask checking, and social distancing while allowing passengers to board the BRTS buses at Old Bus Stand in Hubballi, and at Mitrasamaj bus stand in Dharwad. But, some people board the bus in bus stations en-route, and then, maintaining social distancing becomes difficult," admits Hubballi-Dharwad City District Transport divisional traffic officer K L Gudannavar.

More response needed

COVID-19 scare still haunts many people, and students are also not coming. With less passengers, the cost of running a bus is Rs 27.72 km now, and it was Rs 18 per km earlier. There are no non-stop buses now.

Using 40 buses out of 100, 125 to 130 trips from each direction are being run now, and it can be increased based on the demand from passengers. The number of trips was around 50 per cent less than this on June 5, he said.

Before the relaunch of BRTS service, several buses of North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) were being run in the City limits, and the response was also satisfactory. More City buses are being introduced to new areas now, and 70 NWKRTC buses are running on Hubballi-Dharwad route.

This number will be reduced, when the number of BRTS buses will increase. In 170 city and sub-urban buses, more than 51,000 pssengers are travelling daily in recent days, Gudannavar added.

30% service

NWKRTC's Hubballi division has 419 buses, and it is running only 30 per cent of the buses now.

Around 3,000 passengers travelled in 61 buses operated on the reopening day on May 20. Daily earnings of the division was Rs 50 lakh per day earlier, and it was just Rs 1.40 lakh on Wednesday, with only 22,700 passengers travelling.

"For inter-district buses, the demand is more for Gadag, Haveri, and Bengaluru. We have also started overnight Rajahamsa and non-AC sleeper buses to Bengaluru. The pushing of night curfew to 9:00 pm against the earlier 7:00 pm has helped us a lot," NWKRTC Hubballi divisional controller H Ramanagoudar told DH.

City buses from CBT also stop at Old Bus Stand and Hosur regional terminal, for offering feeder service. Long-route buses leave from New Bus Stand and Hosur regional terminal, while Old Bus Stand is only for rural buses.