:
Every year, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) operates additional services during Ganesha Chaturthi anticipating that there will be a huge rush. This year, however, officials say demand for online tickets is lower than that in previous years. Incessant rain might be forcing Bengalureans to drop their plans of venturing out of the city or people may be relying on private vehicles to move out.
A KSRTC official said, “Usually, one or two days prior to the festival we see a rise in demand for online reservation of tickets. Last year, it touched up to 20,000 but this time till Sunday, we received booking up to 10,000. The city receiving heavy rainfall might be forcing people to stay indoors and drop their plans of going to their native places. This time, Ganesh Chaturthi has come in the middle of the week. Usually, people look for long weekends to go out — this could be another factor.” The official added that there was also no significant rise in demand for buses operated on inter-State routes.
The corporation had planned to run additional 500 buses to clear rush, but till Sunday tickets were reserved for 40 buses on Monday and 67 buses on Tuesday. The KSRTC charges 20% extra fare on additional buses. Additional buses are operated on both intra-State and inter-State routes.
Minister warns of taking action
Transport Minister B. Sriramulu has warned of action against private bus operators for charging exorbitant fares to ferry passengers from Bengaluru to different destinations. In a series of tweets, the Minister said, “It has come to my notice that private bus operators are charging hefty fares for passengers travelling to their native places. Bus operators should charge fixed rates. In case anyone is found collecting excess fare, legal action will be initiated against them.”
However, there seems to be no demand in the private sector either. A private bus operator, Nataraj Sharma, said, “Travel demand has significantly dropped this year. Operators have not hiked the fare; the normal fare is being collected from passengers but we don’t see any rise in demand for the tickets online. Rain cannot be the only reason; people who have spent over two years in their native places may not be visiting this festive season. After the pandemic, people have gone through financial distress, this could have also resulted in they cancelling travel plans or having low-key celebrations.”
