KOCHI: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has shifted the operations of its prestigious Thiruvananthapuram-Bengaluru ‘Swift-Gajaraja’ service to Ernakulam, citing poor patronage and congestion resulting from highway expansion work.
The Ernakulam unit now operates three Bengaluru services using the multi-axle Volvo AC sleeper buses.
“This schedule is now being operated from Ernakulam as there is poor commuter patronage in the Thiruvananthapuram-Ernakulam section. Also, the service gets late frequently because of the highway expansion work on the stretch,” a senior KSRTC official told TNIE.
Thus, only a single ‘Gajaraja’ service, operated by the Kaniyapuram unit, runs in the Thiruvananthapuram-Bengaluru sector (it starts at 7pm from Thampanoor Central bus station). “There is much demand for the Bengaluru service from Ernakulam. The service was rescheduled to turn it profitable,” the official pointed out.
However, regular travellers felt the authorities should have changed the timing of the service rather than shifting it to Ernakulam which already operates two Bengaluru services daily, at 8pm and 9pm.
“The service would start from Thiruvananthapuram at 4.30pm. It’s more convenient to us if the Gajaraja service started around 7.30pm, just like many of the private luxury bus services,” said Sangeet S, a techie from Pattom working in Bengaluru.
The Ernakulam unit, meanwhile, operates the shifted Gajaraja service at 10pm every day.
“The service enjoys demand only during weekends and is cancelled on most of the weekdays. However, with the start of the summer vacation, we expect increased demand for the new service as well,” a KSRTC official said.
The normal sleeper fare for the ‘Swift-Gajaraja’ service to Bengaluru is Rs 1,555.
Besides the Gajaraja services, the Ernakulam unit operates Deluxe and Swift services daily, starting at 6pm and 6.30pm, respectively.