Foreknowing a big jump in passenger load when the city hosts the famous Dasara celebrations starting this Sunday, the management of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) in Mysuru has projected the commuter numbers may touch five lakhs from the current 3.75 lakh daily because of Shakti – the scheme that offers free rides for women in State transport buses.
To ensure hassle-free travel and cater to the demand triggered by Dasara, the Mysuru KSRTC division has mobilised nearly 350 additional buses to operate from October 15 till the month-end, expecting heavy rush of travelers.
“We are certain the rush will go up substantially because of free travel. In addition to 1,000-plus buses, we shall be running an extra 350 buses on various routes to handle the rush. If the demand soars, we may have to bring buses from depots in other districts. The division is fully prepared to manage the Dasara rush,” said Divisional Controller G. Srinivas.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr Srinivas said additional drivers and conductors are also being deployed accordingly from neighbouring districts for operating extra buses, including Sarige, Rajahamsa, Airavatha, and other types of buses.
Preparations are being done accordingly as the passenger load to Mysuru city appears to break the 2022 traffic because of Shakti.
Usually, Mysuru division, with the support from Mandya and Chamarajanagar KSRTC divisions, used to increase its fleet during Mysuru Dasara to meet the rush of commuters. This year, with Shakti in place and the rush, was going to be more than the previous years because of the free rides, the division consulted districts such as Hassan and Chikmagalur divisions besides Mandya and Chamarajnagar for borrowing buses for augmenting the special Dasara operations.
In July and August months, the average daily passenger load was 3.75 to 3.80 lakh. However, in September, the load had moderately dropped with 3.55 lakh passengers travelling daily. With the start of Shravana, the number of commuters increased with a series of festivals ahead.
To Bengaluru alone, the division runs about 300 trips, including luxury and premium services. The schedules will certainly go up during Mysuru Dasara. The division has nine depots.
An average of ₹80 lakh a day was the amount the division was spending for operating the free rides and the same was being sought for reimbursement from the government. Shakti rides were costing around ₹24 to ₹25 crore a month to the KSRTC in the Mysuru division.
It is indeed a challenge for the division to operate the intra-city services with passenger load crossing 100 percent and the number of commuters continuing to rise. Almost all buses operated by the division were running full; some were running exceeding their carrying capacity to deal with the rush of passengers, especially women travellers.
The city bus terminus will witness a record traffic to Chamundi Hills and Brindavan Gardens during Dasara. The buses to the tourist sites usually run full.
