Public demand KSRTC city buses

RTO has issued 32 permits to private buses inspite of DM Notification of 1992

The demand for the introduction of KSRTC city buses in Mangalore was raised by the general public at Transport Adalat held at Regional Transport Office on Friday.

Speaking at the meet, Mangalore Nagarikara Hitharakshana Vedike President Hanumanth Kamath complained that the RTO has issued permits to 32 private city buses to ply to State Bank area despite the District Magistrate’s Notification of 1992 in force. However, it has failed to issue permits to the KSRTC city buses to ply to State Bank area.

“The DM notification came into force to curb the traffic menace caused by the buses. However, in the last two decades there has been lot of changes in the city including the widened roads and increased population. With the changed circumstances, it is difficult to cling on to the notification by not giving permission to the city buses. Hence, permit should be given to the KSRTC city buses for the convenience of the passengers,” he said.
Responding to the demand, Regional Transport Officer C Mallikarjuna who presided over the meeting, assured of doing the needful.

Addur Nagarika Samiti President Nooyi Balakrishna Rao urged the RTO to issue permits to ply KSRTC buses in the rural areas where jeeps and autorickshaws rule the road.

“Commuters are forced to travel in the overloaded jeeps and rickshwas in the interior villages. The introduction of KSRTC city buses would help to solve this problem to a great extent,” he said.

Balasubrahmanya from Ujire urged the RTO to issue permit to ply KSRTC buses between Dharmasthala and Surya, as a large number of devotees visit Surya temple in Belthangady taluk.

Raising the issue of self-declared autorickshaw fares by the auto drivers outside Mangalore city, Balasubrahmanya said that auto drivers have fixed the auto fares irrationally in the absence of meters . In response, the RTO said that the RTO is ready to fix the auto fares for rural areas. The boards indicating the auto fares will be put up in the auto stands, if the panchayts provide them with the required boards, he said.

Buses ‘misguide’

Mohammad Nazeer from Mangalore complained about the private city buses travelling from Konaje and Mudipu to Mangalore of misguiding and troubling the passengers.

Several buses bearing the board of ‘Mangalore’, ask the passengers to get down at Pumpwell and board a different bus to reach State Bank or Central railway station.

Though, they make arrangements for the passengers to board another bus, it causes trouble to the passengers who carry luggage and small children in hands. Most often the buses misguide the passengers by informing them that the bus travels to State Bank area and Railway Station.

The RTO said that he would make it compulsory for all the buses to mention the proper destination in the bus board rather than merely mentioning as ‘Mangalore.’

On asked about the cranky honking by the bus drivers, the RTO informed that a meeting was convened with the bus owners to discuss about the introduction of uniform honk. A meeting will be held with one of the horn manufacturing companies next week and the matter will be settled, he said.

The ABVP members submitted a memorandum to the RTO demanding for the early introduction of KSRTC city buses in Mangalore.

8 KSRTC city buses

Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of the Adalat, KSRTC officer Raju informed that KSRTC is getting ready to introduce eight KSRTC city buses, six in Mangalore city and two in Udupi. The buses are in the manufacturing stage in Kengeri and will be introduced soon, he said.