Pramod Madhwaraj, Minister of State for Fisheries, Youth Services and Sports, flagged off low-floor Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus service to Karkala from here on Thursday.
The timetable of the low-floor buses from Udupi to Karkala is as follows: 6.10 a.m.; 6.40 a.m.; 7.50 a.m.; 8.30 a.m.; 9.30 a.m.; 9.40 a.m.; 11.10 a.m.; noon; 12.40 p.m.; 12.50 p.m.; 2.15 p.m.; 2.25 p.m.; 4.05 p.m. and 4.25 p.m.
Buses from Karkala to Udupi will operate at: 6.10 a.m.; 6.55 a.m.; 7.55 a.m.; 8.10 a.m.; 9.25 a.m.; 10.25 a.m.; 11.05 a.m.; 11.15 a.m.; 12.40 p.m.; 1.40 p.m.; 2.15 p.m.; 4.10 p.m.; 5.15 p.m.
The fare from Udupi to Karkala is ₹ 38 per person.
Speaking to presspersons, Mr. Madhwaraj said that there was a demand from people for low-floor buses from Udupi to Karkala and also to Kundapur. This demand was made by the people at the recent Transport Adalat here.
So far, buses from the private sector were operating on the Udupi-Karkala route. Henceforth, these low-floor government buses too will operate in this sector. “We want both the private and public sector buses to co-exist and operate as then both would strive to provide better services to the people,” he said.
To a query, he said that at present only 12 low-floor government city buses were operating in Udupi city. The KSRTC had applied for 26 route permits. After the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) cleared these routes and announced the schedule, 26 low-floor government buses are expected to operate in Udupi and the surrounding areas. The operation of the city buses would not be concentrated only in the city. Instead, it would be extended to the surrounding rural areas. The meeting of the RTA was scheduled for March 21, he said.
Tenders worth Rs. 4 crore had been floated for the construction of a city bus stand for low-floor government city buses at the Old DDPI Office area here. A KSRTC Inter-district Bus Stand would be constructed at a cost of ₹ 30 crore at Bannanje here under public-private partnership (PPP) mode, Mr. Madhwaraj said.
Vivekananda I. Hegde, KSRTC Divisional Controller, Mangaluru, said that the demand for government city buses in Udupi was picking up. The Mangaluru-Manipal KSRTC Volvo bus service was breaking even. There was demand for the recently launched Mangaluru-Bhatkal KSRTC Volvo service, he said.
Meenakshi Bannanje, president of Udupi City Municipal Council, was present.
