16 August 2007

Now Hire Tamil Nadu buses from Mysore road terminus not KBS

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has decided to shift operations of all its Tamil Nadu bound express buses (Karnataka Sarige) that ply via Mysore Road and Hosur Road from the Kempegowda Bus Station (KBS) to the Mysore Road Satellite Bus Teminus with effect from Wednesday (August 15).

Announcing this on Tuesday, A P Joshi, managing director, KSRTC said, “Currently, 435 express services bound for Mysore are being operated from our Mysore Road station. From August 15, 44 more services of KSRTC and 24 of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation and 373 services of Tamil Nadu State Transport Undertakings will shift operations to Mysore Road from KBS taking the total number of services to 876”.

This would mean that all express bus services that originate from KBS and ply via Mysore Road and Hosur Road towards Salem, Coimbatore, Melmaravatur, Villupuram, Vellore, Dharmapuri, Thirupattur, Thiruvannamalai and other destinations in Tamil Nadu will commence journey from the Mysore Road terminus.

"However, premier services of KSRTC viz, Ultra Delux, Rajahamsa, Mayura, Meghdoot and Volvo (Airavata) will continue their operations from the KBS” said Mr Joshi.

The operations of KSRTC express services to other parts of the State remain unchanged.

Elaborating on the rationale behind the shifting of operations, the KSRTC chief said in view of the construction of a re-modelled Kempegowda Bus Station and Bangalore Metro, it would be necessary to decongest vehicle and passenger movement in the vicinity of Majestic. “This will also result in considerable reduction of air pollution and optimum utilisation of infrastructure at the Mysore Road Satellite Bus Terminus,” Mr Joshi added.
Meanwhile, KSRTC buses towards Hosur originating from Kalasipalyam bus stand will continue. “They could be shifted to the Shantinagar Bus Terminus soon. Talks are on with BMTC for space,” said K A Rajkumar, General Manager (Traffic), KSRTC.

Commuters can make use of free pick-up service from Majestic to Mysore Road terminus, an hour before the commencement of their journey.

The corporation has also introduced a new a/c bus service, ‘Sheetal’, between Bangalore and Mysore with a fare of Rs 100 per commuter.

KSRTC officials say construction of the Rs 1,000 crore mega bus terminus/inter-modal transit centre at Majestic would begin in March 2008. The corporation has received bids from five global consortia and pre-bid documents issued.

Source:Deccan Herald 15th August 2007