Reduced bus service adds up to the woes of daily commuters in Mangaluru

After Covid-19 lockdown, people are forced to wait for a longer time to board buses to their destinations

With private city buses, the lifeline of public transport in Mangaluru city, failing to operate to their full strength after the unlock, buses that are plying are overcrowded and passengers are forced to travel on footboard risking their lives.

Prior to Covid-19-induced lockdown, the frequency of buses to various locations in the city was high and people didn’t have to wait for long. Now, people are forced to wait for a longer time to board buses to their destinations.

Dilraj Alva, president of Dakshina Kannada Bus Operators’ Association (DKBOA), said all private city buses are not operating now. At present, only 232 private city buses are operating. There were more than 350 buses operating across 160 routes in the city in the past. A bus on the shortest route was operating more than 20 trips a day while a bus on the long route had eight to nine trips a day.

With all operators failing to ply their buses, commuters are facing inconvenience. As a result, a few people are travelling in their own vehicles -- two-wheelers or cars -- to their workplace rather than depending on the public transport to commute.

Bus operators claim that they are unable to meet the expenses with the rise in prices of diesel and spare parts and poor occupancy. Hence, it was not possible to operate the buses to full strength, they said.

RTO Ramesh Varnekar said, “Several private bus owners have surrendered their permits. If people give representations on inconveniences faced by them owing to non-commencement of bus services, then temporary permits can be issued to KSRTC to operate on the said route.”

Though Kumpala is situated just 10 km away from Mangaluru, there is no bus service to the place now. Though there were five buses operating to State Bank in Mangaluru and Kottara from Kumpala prior to the Covid-19 lockdown, after the unlock, none of the buses are operating.

People have to walk for more than two km to reach the highway to board a bus to various destinations in Mangaluru. “I was travelling by bus prior to the lockdown to my workplace in Kottara. As buses are not operating, I am forced to walk till Kumpala Bypass covering more than one-and-a-half kilometre to board a bus to Mangaluru. As all the private buses are not operating, there is heavy rush in the bus during the peak hours,” said a private firm employee from Kumpala.

“I saw women and the aged travelling on the footboard of the buses in the morning. As I could not board, I had to wait for a long time to catch another overcrowded bus to reach Mangaluru,” said Disha, a degree student.