Even as the meeting of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) to issue permits to Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to operate city buses under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in Mangaluru city has again been postponed, the choice of bus routes — by the public, by KSRTC and by the RTA — has become an issue of debate.
While the KSRTC has stuck to its earlier stand of demanding permits on high-density and largely served bus routes, the public are demanding buses on less-serviced routes, and the RTA appears to have favoured a mix of the both.
Surprisingly, Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel has recommended diversion of 15 out of 35 buses under JNNURM to be given to Puttur town for meeting its public transport requirements. The remaining 20 buses, Mr. Nalin in his recommendations, said could be operated between KSRTC’s Bejai bus station and different locations in and out of Mangaluru city.
K.S. Vishwanath, General Manager (Operations), KSRTC, told The Hindu that the corporation intends to offer better services to private operators on the high-density routes, including those between State Bank-Surathkal-Katipalla; State Bank-Ullal; State Bank-Talapady; State Bank-Bajpe.
Asked why the KSRTC cannot provide services on the low-density routes, Mr. Vishwanath said the KSRTC may suffer losses. He said private operators’ lobby had been constantly attempting to stall the corporation’s entry into the city bus segment in Mangaluru.
Sources in the RTA said that based on public feedback, the authority had finalised about 40 routes, of which KSRTC could have operated at least on 20 routes. However, the corporation has been unrelenting. The authority cannot compel the corporation to operate on specified routes, but can only act on its applications, they said.
Less-serviced routes
Nagarika Hitharakshana Samithi president G. Hanumanth Kamath told The Hindu that the corporation could have operated buses on routes where there is no service at all.
Besides getting adequate revenue because there were no competitors, the KSRTC could also have served the public, he said.
He had suggested round trips from State Bank via Milagres, Attavar, Kankanady and Balmatta; via Jyothi, Mallikatte, Kankanady, Valencia and Attavar; trips from State Bank to Bondel and Marakada via Car Street and Lal Bagh; and trips to Bajalpadpu on different routes, among others.
