Private buses return to Dakshina Kannada roads

Mangaluru: Familiar cry of ‘right poyee’ that reverberates on private buses in the undivided Dakshina Kannada district will have a muted ring to it when bus operations resume on Monday. Reason: only 20% of 3,000-odd private buses — city, mofussil, service, express buses — will restart operations on the day after more than two months of inactivity. Bus operators say people are unlikely to travel fearing Covid-19 infection.
Canara Bus Operators’ Association (CBOA) president K Rajavarma Ballal, who has chaired a meeting with bus operators of DK and Udupi, told TOI that it will be a skeletal service to start with. “While Dakshina Kannada Bus Operators’ Association has indicated that 130 out of 330 city buses will ply, Udupi City Bus Operators’ Association will restart operations with 22 buses and CBOA with 500-odd buses. These 650-odd buses will cover all major routes,” Ballal said.
Bus operators will have to first follow the RTO rule of spot inspection of parked buses, Ballal said, adding that operators have given a written undertaking that they have suspended operations for two months starting April 1.
With operators facing various legal and financial issues, Ballal said it has become inevitable to raise fares and minimum fare for the first stage has been revised to Rs 10 (a hike of Rs 2). Fares on important inter-district routes – Manipal-Mangaluru, Udupi-Mangaluru, Karkala-Padubidri-Mangaluru, Kundapur-Mangaluru, Kundapur-Udupi, Karkala-Moodbidri-Mangaluru, Udupi-Hiriadka-Karkala have been hiked from Rs 5 to Rs 20, he said.
Noting that the state government has given nod for 15% hike in fares, Ballal said although this revision is not enough to cover costs, the fares have been rounded off to avoid change-related issues. DKBOA has already launched an initiative to go cashless with its Chalo Card for passengers. CBOA has taken steps to convert the CCB passes (already issued to commuters) into cash card on the lines of Chalo Card.
Ballal, who is also the president of Karnataka State Bus Owners’ Federation, said the government has met part of their demands, including waiving road tax for two out of three months.
Operational cost will also go up with the need to sanitise bus after each trip, said Dilraj Alva, president, DKBOA.
Important routes
Revised fare (in ₹)
Existing fare (in ₹)
Mangaluru-Manipal
85
68
Mangaluru-Udupi
80
57
Mangaluru-Karkala via Padubidri
65
55
Mangaluru-Kundapur
120
100
Udupi-Kundapur
55
45
Mangaluru-Karkala via Moodbidri
62
52
Udupi-Karkala via Hiriadka
45
40
Source: CBOA