People who are planning to travel by private buses on the eve of Election Day (May 10) to cast their votes have to pay hefty fares. Ticket booking sites are showing higher fares for those who are trying to book tickets on May 9.
For example, the Bengaluru–Mangaluru ticket fare ranges from ₹1,500 to ₹2,000 per seat, ₹1,200 to ₹2,000 for Belagavi, ₹1,400 to ₹1,800 to Hubballi, ₹2,000 to ₹2,700 to Kalaburagi, and ₹1,200 to ₹1,900 for Udupi.
A private bus operator said, “Anticipating a higher demand, some agents might have pre-booked tickets. This usually results in ticket booking sites showing higher fares for travel. This time during elections, there is moderate demand for bus service as the Election Commission has fixed the election date in the middle of the week. From cities like Bengaluru, some organisations had booked entire buses to ferry passengers. We do not know whether they are affiliated to political parties or not. In the previous elections, political parties were luring voters by providing travel expenses, but this time the trend has changed.”
Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has decided to run 127 additional services from Bengaluru to various destinations in the State to meet the demand.
Sources said that a total of 10,574 people have booked tickets online to travel from Bengaluru to destinations such as Belagavi, Bagalkot, Hubballi, Kalaburagi, Mangaluru, Udupi , Vijayapura, Yadgir, and others. An official said that across the State, a total of 23,944 tickets were booked online to travel in KSRTC buses to various destinations.
Karthik S., a voter in Tirthahalli, said, “Usually, I travel in private buses to Tirthahalli. It usually costs ₹800, but when I checked a few days ago, it was showing ₹1,200. When I was searching on the KSRTC website, it was showing the usual fare, so I booked a ticket on the same platform.”
Metro to run till midnight hours
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) in a press release stated that in view of the Assembly Elections on May 10, Namma Metro services will be operated till the midnight hours.
As per the release, the trains from terminal stations such as Baiyappanahalli, Kengeri, Nagasandra and Silk Institute, K.R. Pura and Whitefield would leave at 12.05 a.m on May 11. The last train from Majestic interchange station will leave at 12.35 a.m towards Baiyappanahalli, Kengeri, Silk Institute and Nagasandra.
