Pay Rs. 150 to travel in special AC Volvo bus

Mysuru: This August 15, the KSRTC will launch special air-conditioned Volvo bus services to Mysore Airport — Airport Shuttle Service — from the City Bus Stand. The KSRTC is following the model of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) which successfully runs ‘Vayu Vajra’ services from various parts of Bengaluru to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) at Devanahalli. 

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, KSRTC Divisional Controller K.V. Manjunath said that the bus service will be convenient to passengers who are at present dependent on taxi service and other private modes of transport to reach Mysore Airport at Mandakalli. 

Under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik), the Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme, the Mysore Airport at present operates flights to Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad and Goa and the Airport has a packed daily schedule of flights taking off and arriving at various intervals. Also, a few more new flights are planned to Belagavi, Kannur and Shirdi in the near future. “We are planning to introduce Volvo bus service to coincide with the timings of departures and arrivals,” Manjunath added. 

At present, there is no dedicated bus service to the Mysore Airport and as such, there has been an increased demand from flyers form an exclusive bus service like Bengaluru. Star of Mysore too had published a series of letters from readers urging the KSRTC to cater to their demands. 

The bus service will be timed to coincide with the arrivals and departures. While the bus service to passengers leaving Mysuru will have to reach the Airport one hour early to facilitate smooth boarding, buses can pick up passengers as soon as they arrive at the Airport, he added. 

“We have conducted a survey which indicated that most of the passengers who depart Mysuru stay at Hotel Radisson Blu, Southern Star and Lalitha Mahal Palace. The Airport also has passengers from Hebbal, Infosys campus and surrounding industrial areas. We are likely to fix a fare of Rs. 150 from the starting point to the Airport and those passengers who want to get down midway might have to pay Rs. 100,” Manjunath said. 

The survey conducted by the KSRTC has revealed that from the City Bus Stand, the Airport bus will have to travel 20 kilometres, covering Sub-Urban Bus Stand and prominent hotels, picking up passengers. “Even if we have 50 percent occupancy, the Airport Volvo service will be profitable for KSRTC,” he said. A Volvo can carry 45 passengers and there is space for luggage too inside the buses. 

The BMTC runs the Bengaluru Airport service and it has proved a successful and a profitable venture. “We want to emulate the same model in Mysuru,” he said. Manjunath added that 12 routes have already been identified. 

The KSRTC Mysuru has a fleet of 36 Volvo buses that are currently operated on various routes, including Chamundi Hills, KRS and Hebbal. Some of the buses on these routes will be diverted for the Airport service and depending on the response, more buses will be added, he revealed.