Mangaluru ; With the recent increase in private bus fares in the twin districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, daily and monthly passes being issued by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Mangaluru-Udupi and Udupi-Kundapur sectors appear to have become attractive for passengers. , daily and monthly passes being issued by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Mangaluru-Udupi and Udupi-Kundapur sectors appear to have become attractive for passengers.
The transport corporation has been issuing monthly and daily passes with revised fares since August 2019 that have not further been revised.
The daily pass for the Mangaluru-Udupi route is priced ₹100 and the Udupi-Kundapur sector ₹70 per round trip, while a monthly pass on these sectors is priced ₹2,000 and ₹1,400, respectively. Passes are valid on all ordinary and express services, while normal fares on these sectors are ₹70 and ₹50, respectively. Monthly pass-holders can, however, make unlimited journeys, said KSRTC’s Mangaluru Divisional Controller Arun Kumar.
However, with the latest fare revision for private buses [which has not been effected for RTC buses for the last about two years], travel on private buses is said to be expensive. For example, the fare on Mangaluru-Udupi sector has reached ₹90, while on the Udupi-Kundapur route, it has touched ₹65.
Joy Carvalho in his social media post said that a round-trip between Udupi and Kundapur becomes cheaper if one buys a daily pass on KSRTC bus priced ₹70 as against ₹130 on private buses since private operators do not offer daily passes.
30% concession
Private bus operators, however, said that they offer 30% concession to daily travellers when they buy pre-paid RFID cards at the rate of 20 round trips which are valid for a month. KSRTC did not increase fares for over two years and is supported fully by the government helping it to cushion losses unlike private operators, said Treasurer of Canara Bus Owners Association Jyoti Prasad Hegde.
Private operators and KSRTC are competing in an uneven field, Mr. Hegde said and cited the recent salary disbursement for RTC employees by the government amounting to over ₹1,500 crore during COVID-19 lockdown. On the other hand, private operators did not get even a single rupee and had to support their crew on their own, he regretted. Private operators also offer 50% fare concession to students, Yakshagana artistes, specially-abled, among others.
