As more relaxations kicked in under Unlock 4.0, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) too has got the go-ahead to fill all seats in its buses. The transport corporation had sought the State government’s nod to relax norms on social distancing in the wake of mounting losses and operational costs.
Until now, the KSRTC was allowed to take 30 passengers in ‘Karnataka Sarige’ buses with a seating capacity of 54, and in AC buses with a seating capacity of around 40, only 20 passengers were allowed. “Prior to Karnataka, other States were running buses with full capacity. The move will help the KSRTC to bear the operational cost. The new order of the government is being followed from Tuesday,” a KSRTC official said.
The official also said that response to services is improving over the weeks. At present, the transport utility is operating 4,000 buses and 7.5 lakh to 8.5 lakh passengers are travelling every day. The revenue touched ₹4.45 crore on Sunday.
Meanwhile, after over five months, road transport corporations in the State are likely to resume services to Goa. Officials said services to Goa, including premier AC buses, would be operated for two or three days. “We have received a positive response from the Goa government on resuming services. NWKRTC and KSRTC were running buses to Goa prior to the lockdown. Depending on demand, services will be operated in the coming days,” an official said and added that there had been no response from other States such Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala to resume services. “We operated 42 buses for the benefit of passengers travelling to Kerala to celebrate Onam. Regular services, however, have not yet resumed,” the official said.
KSRTC inter-State services began in mid-June to Andhra Pradesh, though other neighbouring States did not give a nod to operate buses.
Deputy Chief Minister and Transport Minister Laxman Savadi recently said a decision on services to Maharashtra, the worst-hit State in the country by the pandemic, would be taken later.