KSRTC luxury bus service to Bengaluru losing charm

Sir,

The Airavat bus services of KSRTC to Bengaluru is not only overpriced, but also not worth the money especially for Bengaluru. Upon introduction, the services were so good and most of the buses used to reach Nayandanahalli in 2 hours 15 minutes. Let us forget weekends, when the traffic is more, even on weekdays, during daytime also buses take more than 3 hours.

Earlier buses were not stopping everywhere, but now when they stop for coffee break in Maddur, they stop for 20-plus minutes without any control.

Another factor is most of the buses are Club Class buses which costs 310 rupees as opposed to 295 rupees in Shatabdi train for a 1hr 55 min journey with much more comfort. For Bengaluru, people do not need Club Class, single axle Airavat with competitive fare of Rs. 220 on weekdays and 240 on weekends with an efficient service. Otherwise these buses will be calling for passengers ‘forever’ which averages 45 minutes.

Mid-range Rajahamsa needs a complete overhaul. Fleet is too old and looks like all the parts will drop on the road. Ageing fleet needs a replacement along with fixing attractive price at Rs. 150.

Most of the people who travel to Bengaluru for official or business purpose need a time-saving journey more than luxurious journey. Trains being cheaper and a time variation of max 15-30 minutes, people are turning towards trains.

KSRTC should also complement it to handle the extra crowd with efficient services along with allowing private operators like VRL, SRS to start services. This reduces the number of cars and fatal accidents on road between the two cities.