DC permits KSRTC Volvo buses to ply between NITB and railway station

DC permits KSRTC Volvo buses to ply between NITB and railway station

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, July 29: Dr. N. S. Channappa Gowda, the deputy commissioner of DK district and chairman of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) on Wednesday relaxed certain conditions in the district magistrate’s notification issued on April 6, 1993, thereby permitting KSRTC to extend its Volvo bus service from Mangalore Airport’s new integrated terminal building (NITB) to the Mangalore Central Railway Station. Currently, the service is from NITB to the KSRTC’s main bus station at Bejai.  

So far, the notification of 1993 was preventing KSRTC’s Volvo bus service from entering the heart of the city. The KSRTC had therefore urged the RTA to permit it to extend the service to Mangalore Central Railway Station. The regional transport office, who is also the secretary of the RTA, also supported the KSRTC. 

The DC has issued an official communication, in which he stated that the KSRTC can operate Volvo buses from Mangalore Airport to the Central Railway Station through Kavoor, Bondel, Bejai, KSRTC, Lalbagh, PVS, Bunts Hostel, Jyothi, and Hampankatta. During the return journey, the bus will pass through K. S. Rao Road, PVS Circle, Bunts Hostel, Jyothi, St. Agnes College, Mallikatte, Nanthoor, KPT, Bondel, and Kavoor. 

The DC has also stated that the permit applies only to two Volvo buses, which are running four trips between NITB and Mangalore. 

According to In-charge Divisional Controller C. Yeshwanth Kumar, the KSRTC is providing this service especially for people who come from Kasargod to catch flights in Mangalore. Since most of them take the train to come to Mangalore, they would be grateful for a bus service between the railway station and the airport. 

Stating that the initial response to the service has been lukewarm, Mr. Kumar has expressed confidence that the service will become more popular as the days pass. If this happens, the KSRTC will request its central head office to provide Volvo buses with luggage carriers, he added. 

Mr. Kumar also said that similar services in Bangalore and Mysore are running very well.