Coronavirus lockdown: Private buses resume service in Dakshina Kannada

After 70 days of hibernation, private buses, the lifeline of transport in Dakshina Kannada, resumed service on Monday. After March 21, the owners had stopped operating the buses due to the lockdown announced by the government to contain Covid-19.

DK Bus Operators’ Association (DKBOA) had decided to operate only 20% of the private buses—city, service, express initially and will operate all the buses in a phased manner depending on the demand.

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Accordingly, out of 330 city buses, about 130 operated on Monday. The response on a few routes like Talapady, Mudipu and others during peak hours in the morning and evening was good with office-goers using the service.

A few buses had arranged sanitisers for passengers, drivers and conductors. Buses were sanitised before the journey at State Bank bus terminus. As per the guidelines, bus drivers and conductors were also using gloves as a precautionary measure.

Bus fares had increased by 15% as per the notification issued by the government. Fares on important routes—Manipal-Mangaluru, Udupi-Mangaluru, Karkala-Mangaluru, Kundapura-Mangaluru, Karkala-Moodbidri-Mangaluru, Udupi-Hiriyadka-Karkala was hiked between Rs 5 and Rs 20.

Though the government had permitted owners to operate bus services during mid-May, private buses continued to remain off the road as owners had surrendered permits to the RTO.

DK Bus Operators’ Association President Dilraj Alva said the government had met part of their demands, including waiving road tax for two months. The operational cost will increase with the need to sanitise buses after each trip.

‘Chalo Smart Card’

The DKBOA has launched an initiative to go cashless with its ‘Chalo Smart Card’ for passengers. To avail the card, the association has decided to open three to four counters in the State Bank area where buses are parked. Further, passengers can purchase the cards at the association’s office in Milagres. It is also available at Chalo office at State Bank.

“We are also planning to promote the use of Chalo cards in buses. Smart cards have been introduced on a trial basis on route number 27 (State Bank to Mangaladevi). Conductors are also trained in using the cards. There is a good response to the cards. In a phased manner, it will be rolled out in buses travelling on various routes,” explained Alva.

The card is swiped using the Electronic Ticketing Machine (ETM) used by the bus conductors for issuing the ticket. The conductors will deduct the amount based on the passenger’s destination.