THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Be it bus, car or train, Keralites in Bengaluru are all set to use any mode of transport to reach their home on the voting day on April 26. Sensing the demand Kerala Road Transport Corporation and Karnataka Road Transport Corporation have started 10 additional bus services to major towns including Kannur, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram and Malappuram. They are offering flexi rates with discounts for booking the return trip. According to the officers of state-run RTCs, most of the seats have already been booked. The fare for a seat in a private bus from Mysuru/Bengaluru to Ernakulam reached `3,250 on Monday.
The private bus operators also plan to increase the number of services on April 25, which is when they see the demand peak. The fares are going to be dynamic, said a representative of Interstate Bus Operator’s Association of Karnataka, Rijas A J.
There are informal car pooling arrangements for people who find it comfortable to travel to Kerala during peak season. “It is impossible to get a train ticket at this time and the bus fares are very costly. Car pooling suits us because it is comfortable and we could return on time after voting on Friday,” said Shine Mathew and Arun Kumar, executives staying in Whitefield. S Prasanthan, the general secretary of the Contract Carriage Operators Association, said the practice of providing chartered bus services by political parties has stopped. “There used to be chartered bus services from Chennai during elections. Now there may be car services arranged by the political parties,” he said.
However, there are people who think that the rush is more to do with the long weekend. “There are people who take leave in advance because it is a public holiday in here on April 26. But Malayalis leaving Bengaluru in large numbers now gives a bad impression. Many of them are permanent residents here. It reinforces the local politicians’ understanding that we are of no concern for them because our votes are in another state,” said Vishnu S of Thiruvananthapuram, who is now a voter in the Bengaluru South LS constituency.