Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil said bus owners, under the aegis of Dakshina Kannada Bus Operators’ Association, cannot survive without improving the quality of services offered to the public.
Speaking after launching Chalo app for Mangaluru for the Bus Operators’ Association here on Monday, he said a few operators are providing good services to the public while some people are not bothered about good services. As a result, a majority of the people, who are dependent on public transport, are facing inconvenience. There is a need for mass reformation in the services offered, he said.
“I get complaints on bus services daily. Even schoolchildren complain about the lack of services and behaviour of the staffers, which is not a good sign. To survive in the competition, the bus operators should be ready to provide quality services which are available in a car. The bus staffers should behave well with passengers. There is a need for investment to bring in reforms in the system as well,” he said.
He said people in Mangaluru should turn towards public transport system as a mode of transport.
He said, “The complaints about bus services are increasing day by day. There was a discussion on running KSRTC buses. But it was decided to give a chance to the bus operators considering their investment in the sector.”
Senthil said the Association has promised to bring in reforms in the system. The district administration wants quality services and honours those who utilise the public transport system.
Chalo app
The Chalo app for Mangaluru has been developed by Zophop Technologies Pvt Ltd and is being launched in the city in association with the Bus Operators’ Association.
The app integrates all the private buses in Mangaluru into a single live tracking and journey planner tool
for the city.
With the launch of the app, the time of waiting at the bus stop for the commuters are over as they can check the live location and arrival time of a bus on their mobile phone.
The app tracks the live GPS position of the bus on a map. It also helps to locate bus stops in the closest location. It provides all bus route option to the destination of passengers.
DCP (Crime) Uma Prashanth, MCC Commissioner Mohammed Nazeer, RTO John Misquith and Bus Operators’ Association Dilraj Alva were present.