Private buses and autorickshaws seem to be having a free run in several villages of Pandavapura taluk as the KSRTC bus connectivity here, is much to desire for.
Commuters here state that the frequency of KSRTC buses is less. Besides, they fail to keep up to a schedule and the fares are also high when compared with private vehicles.
Although there are only four to five private buses, covering different villages from Pandavapura, people depend on them for transportation. Similarly, the villagers largely depend on autorickshaws to commute from one place to another. Autorickshaws are often overloaded. Each bus makes at least four to five trips a day.
Another advantage of the private vehicles is that passengers can alight and board at their convenient place because they have no designated stops.
KSRTC buses ply to most of the villages in the taluk, but, they fail to maintain proper timings, which forces the commuters, particularly villagers, to depend on private vehicles such as private buses, maxi cabs and autorisckshaws. The fare of KSRTC buses is higher as compared to private vehicles, say villagers.
B Chinnaswamy of Vadedamudra, near Kanaganamaradi, where 30 passengers were killed as a private bus plunged into Visvesvaraya Canal, said, a KSRTC bus makes trips through the village everyday, but, it never reaches the village on time. “Thus school students and villagers totally depend on private vehicles. There is one particular KSRTC bus that is supposed to reach Vadesamudra around 8 am and again at 5.30 pm everyday, but we have never seen the bus reach in time,” he said.
“Two private buses — Manjunatha and Rajakumara — ply between Mandya and Pandavapura via Kadaganamaradi, Vadesamudra and Shivalli, everyday. The condition of the buses is miserable and the owners are not bothered about the safety of the passengers. Due to the bad condition, Rajakumara bus plunged into the canal claiming 30 lives,” he alleged.
Shankaracharya, another villager, said, despite several requests to people’s representatives, no one has bothered to increase the number of trips of KSRTC buses. Even RTO and Transport department authorities are not bothered about the fitness of the private vehicles, he said. He said, a majority of the autorickshaws are often overcrowded, but, it is inevitable for people to travel. “Nobody would depend on private vehicles, if sufficient number of KSRTC buses were plying on these routes. KSRTC stopped plying buses in a few routes, claiming low collection,” he alleged. According to the drivers, a majority of the buses in the taluk are second-hand vehicles, purchased either from Dakshina Kannada or Udupi or Bengaluru. The vehicles are reconditioned before ferrying passengers, but, in a few cases, the owners fail to take up repair works even if the vehicles are not fit for use.
Expressing helplessness, an autorickshaw driver said, he has rented his vehicle. “I visit several villages to ferry passengers everyday. I charge a little less compared to buses as I have to pay a huge amount as rent. It is difficult to maintain it if I fail to run the vehicle with only a few passengers,” he said.