Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore   

KSRTC plans more `pick up and drop' points in City

By B.S.Ramesh

BANGALORE Nov. 20. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has decided to streamline the system of picking up passengers of its long-distance buses even as it plans to provide more drop points.

The KSRTC Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, K.Jairaj, told The Hindu that the corporation had decided to provide "drop" (disembark) facilities to passengers of long-distance buses at major bus stands in the City. So far, commuters were provided stops at some places on the major routes before the bus reached the Subash Nagar terminus.

Mr. Jairaj said the bus stops for disembarking had been identified.

While the Subashnagar terminus would continue to function as a nucleus, passengers could disembark at any bus station of their choice. In South Bangalore, the KSRTC has identified City Market, Kalasipalyam, Jayanagar 4th Block, and Indiranagar, Shivajinagar in the East, Yeshwanthpur and Malleswaram in the North. This would be in addition to the Mysore Road terminus.

He said the idea of providing more disembarking points took shape when the KSRTC realised that the commuters had to pay double the fare if they engaged an autorickshaw.

Since a majority of the long-distance buses reached Bangalore early in the morning, harassment by autorickshaw drivers was common.

Also, the passengers had to pay one-and-a-half times the meter fare, if they travelled early in the morning or late in the night. Besides, the people faced risk of robbery.

The longer the commuter had to travel, higher the risk. With the KSRTC now deciding to provide more drop points, people can wait for the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses.

The "drop" facility is likely to be extended to some more buses on the Bangalore-Mysore route, as the passenger traffic is very heavy on the sector. As of now, the "drop" facility is mainly provided for long-distance commuters.

With not many commuters availing the pick-up facility, the KSRTC plans to publicise it in a bigger manner.

Several KSRTC long distances buses have pick up points in various localities before they reach the Subash Nagar terminus.

By streamlining the "pick-up and drop" points, the KSRTC hopes to not only help the commuters but also compete with the private bus operators who are known to be more flexible in arranging for "pick up'' and "drop points".

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