BENGALURU: People of coastal districts planning to go home to cast their vote will have to pay more for bus travel from Bengaluru on the eve of Lok Sabha polls. Ticket-booking sites for private bus operators are showing fares up to Rs 2,700 per seat to destinations such as Mangaluru and Udupi.
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has also received good response to online booking for April 25. Officials say that in the Mangaluru sector, KSRTC operates close to 100 buses of various segments, considering the increasing demand. “We’re running additional services based on the demand we see online. We’ve already added 20-odd services,” said an official.
A private bus operator said, “Compared to previous elections, there is an increased demand for bus services to coastal areas such as Mangaluru, Udupi, Kundapur and others. Buses are booked on a contractual basis. As per estimates, 250-350 buses will be operated from Bengaluru to destinations in the coastal belt on the eve of election day.”
On the other hand, South Western Railway (SWR) has announced that two special trains will be operated to coastal areas to clear the rush on April 25.
For poll duty, KSRTC and BMTC will provide over 4,500 ordinary service buses. The BMTC will deploy 1,700 buses for Lok Sabha constituencies in the city, while KSRTC will supply 2,100 to 2,700 buses, depending on the requirement in various districts.
“There will be some shortage of services for two days. We’ll make optimal utilization of the buses available by running additional trips, depending on the demand,” a BMTC official said.
‘Pick up tourists in afternoon’ To boost polling, the transport department has urged cabs and tourist vehicle drivers to pick up passengers visiting tourist and religious places in the afternoon on polling day. In a public notice, the department stated that the move would help people vote. Drivers have been urged to inform passengers who’ve already booked vehicles to start their journey in the afternoon.
On Monday, BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath held a meeting with cab and tourist vehicle operators and sought their cooperation.
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