Travelling from Mysore to catch a flight at the Bangalore Airport will no longer be a hassle as the KSRTC and the airport authorities will soon start a ‘Fly-bus’ service that will connect the two destinations, said Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Sunday.
As many as 50 buses (both regular and AC) were launched for different parts of the state on the day.
KSRTC Managing Director Manjunath Prasad said that the bus- an Airavat Club Class (Volvo multi-axle) will have frequent services throughout the day and also provide details of flight timings on the bus. “The first of these services will be to Mysore in August. In time, we will introduce these services to Ooty, Coimbatore, Puducherry and other places as well,” he said and added that the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) which was a success with the 400 buses of Mysore City Transport Corporation, contributed to its extension to 4,000 more buses.
“Work with regard to setting up control rooms and the development of software is in progress. In about four months, 4,000 of the 8,000 buses will be linked to ITS, along with vehicle tracking and monitoring system as part of Phase 1 of the extension. The remaining 4,000 will be linked in Phase 2,” he said. He added that the project will cost about Rs 13 crore.
The corporation will also set up three driver training institutes at Malur, Chikmagalur and Malavalli, each at a cost of Rs 5 crore. “Training will be given to about 1,200 drivers and 600 mechanics at each institute. We have joined hands with the Social Welfare Department for the purpose and trainee drivers will not incur expenses,” Minister Reddy said.
The KSRTC plans to add 1,528 buses, including 236 Grama Sarige, 1,079 Sarige, 87 city buses, six Karnataka Vaibhava, 58 Rajahamsa and 62 Volvo multi-axle ones.
The construction of Peenya satellite bus stop at a cost of Rs 32 crore will begin in two months, Prasad said.
“Four new depots will be added at Vijaynagar (Mysore), Hassan, Honnalli and Belur and eight new bus stops will be constructed.”