KSRTC awaits RTA nod to run 400 trips daily

KSRTC awaits RTA nod to run 400 trips daily

Mangaloretoday News Network

Mangalore, March 17: Whenever the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) convenes a meeting, there is talk that introduction of KSRTC city bus services is the best solution to the various problems associated with that current bus transport system monopolized by private buses.

Back in the early nineties, the district magistrate (DM) issued a notification preventing new bus permits to be issued for Mangalore’s main bus terminus near State Bank of India. Owing to this, all new permits pertain to routes not covered in the above-mentioned notification. The KSRTC has already submitted around 38 permits to operate city bus services, and the last RTA meeting convened in January discussed the issue of these pending permits.

According to KSRTC Divisional Controller P. B. Karumbaiah, the KSRTC is just waiting for these permits to be cleared so that it can launch city bus services in Mangalore. The KSRTC will require at least one month getting ready the required buses and can start with 50 buses, he said. Once KRSTC receives the RTA nod, it will run 400 trips everyday along the preferred routes.

The KSRTC buses with their low floors and large double doors are ideal for the physically challenged and the aged, enabling them to get on and off with ease. They also eliminate the problem of overcrowding. Moreover, the KSRTC is famous for its customer friendliness.

RTA Chairman and DC Subodh Yadav said that the DM notification needs to be modified first before the RTA can permit KSRTC and private buses to run to and from the main bus terminus at SBI. Since the KSRTC has requested permits to operate from areas mentioned in the DM notification, its applications are still pending. He also admitted that there are other issues preventing KSRTC from launching its city bus services.

Nagarika Hitharakshana Vedike President Hanumanth Kamath said that the introduction of KSRTC services will solve many problems faced by commuters such as the rude behavior of private bus crew, over speeding, overcrowding, and so on. The competition introduced might force private bus operators to offer better service and change their attitude.