Bengaluru, 24 April

A section of private bus operators has increased the fares to cash in on the rush of passengers to get back to their hometowns from Bengaluru to cast a vote for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka on Friday and in view of the summer holidays.  

The prices have doubled for the buses towards parts of south Karnataka which go to polls. “This is typically the holiday season and many of them have booked the buses for extended holidays as well,” Natraj Sharma, President of Federation of Karnataka State Private Travel Operators Association, told Salar News. 

On 25 and 26 April, 300 buses are scheduled to run to areas going to polls such as Udupi, Mandya, Mysuru, Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Tumakuru, and Chitradurga, with Udupi and Mangaluru as the final destinations. “The amount of people travelling in these two days comes up to 10,000-15,000. The bookings were generally done for group travellers, and we did not see many single passengers in any bus,” Sharma said.

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation officials said their ticket prices remain unchanged despite the peak in demand. “KSRTC will be providing around 2,100-2,700 buses for Lok Sabha polling duties. The number of buses depends on the requirement in various districts,” said Dr Latha TS, Public Relations Officer of KSRTC. Similarly, BMTC will be deploying 1,700 buses for polling duties in the City itself.”

Meanwhile, Keralities living in the City are also making a beeline to travel back home to exercise their franchise on Friday. Kerala Road Transport Corporation and Karnataka  State Road Transport Corporation have introduced 10 additional bus services to Kannur, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram and Malappuram. They are offering flexi rates with discounts for booking the return trip. Most of the seats have already been booked, according to the officers of state-run RTCs.—Salar News