KTC interstate buses to resume operations after 170 days

PANAJI: After a hiatus of 170 days, interstate buses of the Kadamba Transport Corporation Ltd (KTC) are going to resume operations from September 5.
Following the Centre’s new guideline on easing most of travel restrictions, KTC decided to restore its service on two Karnataka routes – Belagavi and Karwar. Restoration of services to Maharashtra will follow suit later. “We have spoken to the authorities in Karnataka and will operate the buses in a phased manner. Initially, only a few KTC buses will be operated on these routes. We will decide which other routes to be added based on the demand,” KTC managing director, Venancio Furtado said.
“The suspension of most of our services owing to Covid have resulted in a revenue loss of Rs 10 crore per month,” KTC general manager, Sanjay Ghate told TOI.
From Saturday, five buses will be operational – three for Goa to Belagavi and two on the Goa to Karwar route. The 50-seater buses will operate on full seating capacity. Owing to the pandemic, MHA guidelines had instructed only 50% capacity for passengers. The five buses will start at 6.30am, 7.30am and 8.30am. Commuters will have to personally come to the bus stand and book their tickets for the travel. KTC’s online interstate bus booking continues to be temporarily suspended. There is no change in the ticket pricing. Passengers traveling to Karwar and Belagavi will have to pay Rs 75 and Rs 150 respectively. The buses are reciprocal and will return to Goa the same day. “We will observe how passengers respond to this service. If there is no demand, we will stop the operations once again,” he said.
Prior to the pandemic, KTC ran its buses to Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana (Hyderabad). The interstate services had been suspended owing to the lockdown and were limited to only pick and drop for stranded passengers across the country. Only 200 of the 500-odd buses in the fleet are operational due to the pandemic.