While the proposal to introduce buses for sightseeing in the district is awaiting green signal from the district administration, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is keen on offering buses, mostly Volvos, on a daily rental basis for the service.
With the idea of covering lesser-known places, besides major tourist spots here, people in the travel industry have mooted the idea of guided sightseeing tours this Dasara in air-conditioned buses at an affordable price.
On the lines of London’s Big Bus, a city-based tour and travel operator has come up with the proposal of operating similar services by hiring buses from KSRTC.
The company, headed by B.S. Prashanth, president of Mysore Travel Agents’ Association, has spoken to the government and stakeholders in the tourism industry on the proposal.
KSRTC Divisional Controller (Urban) H.M. Ramesh told The Hindu that, “As a stakeholder, we can provide our buses on a daily rental basis. The proposed service will have trained personnel to guide tourists on sightseeing,” he explained.
Mr. Ramesh said the proposed service may initially require about six buses, preferably Volvos, and the corporation would provide them if the operators pay the standard rent. Mr. Prashanth said the guided sightseeing tours in buses would be launched this Dasara if the government responded positively to the proposal. “The daily rent for a bus is around Rs. 21,000 (to cover 300 km daily). If the rates are subsidised and we get support from the administration, we can consider launching the service,” he said.
The circuit tour covering 32 km in and around Mysore plans to include certain places, which are potential from the tourism point of view but least visited by tourists at present, he explained.
