Coronavirus scare: KSRTC cuts down services of 30 buses

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has suspended the service of its 30 buses in the district with the decrease in the number of passengers following the coronavirus scare.

In Chikkamagaluru division, the services of five Rajahamsa and 25 normal buses have been suspended. As a result, KSRTC’s revenue has come down considerably.

As many as 25 buses being operated to religious places Sringeri, Horanadu and Dharmasthala from Chikkamagaluru have been suspended temporarily. The remaining five buses were going to Bengaluru and Chennai.

There has been an 80% decline in the number of passengers travelling to religious places. Some buses had only five passengers. Hence, the services of 25 buses connecting the places of worship with the city have been cut
down.

A total of 876 KSRTC buses, including 546 buses from the division, operate to various destinations in the district. There are 2,471 employees, including conductors, drivers, mechanic and officials, in the division. Supplying masks and sanitisers to all the conductors, drivers and staff has been a challenging task for the authorities.

Divisional controller H T Veeresh said, “At least 50,000 passengers use the KSRTC services from Chikkamagaluru bus stand daily. Now, the number of passengers have come down to 35,000. Revenue has been affected by Rs 15 lakh per day.”

He said maintaining cleanliness in buses has become a priority for them. Measures have been taken to supply sanitisers and gloves for the staffers. The sanitisers are being procured from Chikkaballapur following a shortage in the city. The staffers have been directed to sanitise their hands for once in every hour.

Flex boards and banners have been mounted at KSRTC Bus Stand to create awareness against coronavirus infection. food stalls have been directed not to keep the food items in pen.

Awareness should be created on maintaining social distance among the passengers, the passengers said.