The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has asked passengers planning to travel in premier services such as Ambari Dream Class, Airvata Club Class, Fly Bus and other services to bring their own blankets and bedspread as it has decided to temporarily stop providing blankets to the passengers as a precautionary measure to contain spread of COVID -19.
The transport corporation is already reporting poor patronage for AC buses on intra-state and inter-state routes, resulting in losses of ₹ 3.94 crore since March 1. On Monday, the corporation cancelled 585 schedules of services, a majority of them premier services.
An official of the KSRTC said online reservation of tickets has fallen from around 23,000 to around 13,000 per day compared to the previous week. “As per our estimates, the revenue loss will increase further in the coming days. Owing to cancellation of premier services and poor ridership, the corporation has incurred a loss of ₹3.12 crore. In the interest of passengers, we have taken several measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 by fumigation and sanitizing the buses. Now, a decision has been taken not to provide blankets in premier services starting from Wednesday,” the official said.
More BMTC schedules to be cancelled
The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) too has decided to further reduce scheduled. On Saturday, the BMTC had cancelled 10% of its schedules — approximately operation of 500 to 600 buses. Now, the BMTC will cancel around 20% of schedules, which means around 1,200 buses will remain off the roads.
A senior official of the BMTC said, “The number of people travelling in public transport has reduced. We have already cancelled schedules on routes where buses are operated in high frequency.”
Namma Metro ridership hit
Namma Metro ridership too took a plunge, reducing by 50% on Sunday. Shankar A.S., Executive Director, Operations and Maintenance, BMRCL told The Hindu that on Sundays, 3.5 lakh people travel in Namma Metro on both the lines. However, this Sunday, only 1.6 lakh people travelled.
“Even on Monday, the number of people taking the metro came down. However, we have not reduced any schedules. The BMRCL has taken various measures to keep coaches and areas used by the passengers in hygienic condition.”
Owing to closure of malls, theatres and other establishments in the city, the number of people travelling in autorickshaws and taxis too have reduced. Girish, an auto driver, said, “For the last couple of days, it has become very difficult to get passengers. Even after standing for an entire day, auto drivers get one or two passengers. I am hoping that everything will be fine after a week and this situation will not continue.”
