MYSURU: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has cancelled at least 64 schedules out of 472 that operate daily between Mysuru and Bengaluru. These buses were being operated by various divisions of KSRTC.
According to sources, a variety of reasons including increase in the number of trains between the two cities, launch of air service, traffic congestion on National Highway-766 especially after Ramanagar, are the reasons to reduce the number of services.
“The decision to reduce the number of services was taken due to poor occupancy rate on the existing schedules,” said R Ashok Kumar, divisional controller, KSRTC Mysuru rural.
Besides, between Hassan and Bengaluru, 50 schedules have been cut to make the route profitable.
“For one kilometre, the operating cost is Rs 36. We are not getting enough returns due to the poor occupancy rate. So we decided to bring down the number of schedules,” said an official of KSRTC Hassan division.
According to sources, in every three minutes, at least one bus leaves from Mysuru to Bengaluru. “Now the route service has been rationalised. Efforts are being made to bring down the number of buses operated between two cities,” said another official.
According to officials, more and more people are now switching to trains due to the cost factor and traffic congestion. “The train fare is nearly half of the bus fare. Added to this, even the slowest train between Mysuru and Bengaluru takes less than 3 hours to reach Majestic area. But KSRTC buses take an average of 3.5 hours to reach Satellite bus terminus on Mysore Road. And another 30 minutes travel is required to reach the Majestic. So people are shifting from buses to trains,” said an official. “Traffic congestion can be seen in many places including Mandya, Maddur and Chennapatna. Train service is becoming more and more popular,” he added.
Meanwhile, passengers feel that increased frequency of trains between Mysuru and Bengaluru has come as a big relief for them. “The road journey has become a nightmare. If the SWR introduces more trains, it will be helpful to the passengers,” said Raghavendra Adihikar, a bank employee who travels between Mysuru and Bengaluru daily.
According to sources, a variety of reasons including increase in the number of trains between the two cities, launch of air service, traffic congestion on National Highway-766 especially after Ramanagar, are the reasons to reduce the number of services.
“The decision to reduce the number of services was taken due to poor occupancy rate on the existing schedules,” said R Ashok Kumar, divisional controller, KSRTC Mysuru rural.
Besides, between Hassan and Bengaluru, 50 schedules have been cut to make the route profitable.
“For one kilometre, the operating cost is Rs 36. We are not getting enough returns due to the poor occupancy rate. So we decided to bring down the number of schedules,” said an official of KSRTC Hassan division.
According to sources, in every three minutes, at least one bus leaves from Mysuru to Bengaluru. “Now the route service has been rationalised. Efforts are being made to bring down the number of buses operated between two cities,” said another official.
According to officials, more and more people are now switching to trains due to the cost factor and traffic congestion. “The train fare is nearly half of the bus fare. Added to this, even the slowest train between Mysuru and Bengaluru takes less than 3 hours to reach Majestic area. But KSRTC buses take an average of 3.5 hours to reach Satellite bus terminus on Mysore Road. And another 30 minutes travel is required to reach the Majestic. So people are shifting from buses to trains,” said an official. “Traffic congestion can be seen in many places including Mandya, Maddur and Chennapatna. Train service is becoming more and more popular,” he added.
Meanwhile, passengers feel that increased frequency of trains between Mysuru and Bengaluru has come as a big relief for them. “The road journey has become a nightmare. If the SWR introduces more trains, it will be helpful to the passengers,” said Raghavendra Adihikar, a bank employee who travels between Mysuru and Bengaluru daily.
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