BENGALURU: With demand mounting for the introduction of air-conditioned Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses to destinations that are around 100 km from Bengaluru, the bus corporation is taking up a feasibility study. At present, its AC buses only serve longer routes.
Speaking to TNIE, KSRTC MD Anbu Kumar said, “There are thousands of people from all walks of life who travel to and from the city for various purposes, each day. Students, techies, workers, and traders board our buses from places closer to Bengaluru, like Kolar, Tumakuru, Anekal, Ramanagara, Kanakapura, Channapatna, Mandya, Chikkaballapur, Hosur, and other places, which are within or around 100 km from the state capital. It is these people who form the major floating population in Bengaluru.”
“We have AC buses on longer routes, such as Bengaluru to Chennai, Mangaluru, Belagavi, Goa, and others, but we do not have AC services to places that are within the 100-km range.
The existing non-AC buses, including the Ashwamedha, are ordinary point-to-point buses, which are comfortable for both sitting and standing travel. However, there are requests from regular travellers, for AC buses that provide more comfort, charging ports, and other amenities,” Kumar said.
“In the past three years, people have supported all our new launches -- Ambari Utsav, Ashwamedha, Pallaki, and EV Power Plus (e-bus). We gauge the pulse of the people before launching anything new. Now, there is demand for AC buses to places within 100 km from Bengaluru. We will take up a feasibility study on the routes, frequency and demand,” he mentioned.
“We need a mid-version of Ashwamedha,” he said, adding that pricing tickets for this AC bus might be challenging, as people are ready to pay more for long-distance travel, since they travel occasionally. However, in this sort of regular travel, they have to pay extra, that too every day.
Since profit alone is not the intention, the fare will be worked out after the feasibility study, Kumar informed.