Mangalore - Manipal Volvo Price Hike Angers Passengers

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, Apr 2: A 10-rupee increase in Mangalore - Manipal KSRTC Volvo bus is the new gift by KSRTC to the commuters of this region. A sudden price rise without prior notice has taken the people aback.

It cost Rs 70 per ticket until March 31, but effective from April 1 passengers have to shell out an extra Rs 10 for Mangalore - Manipal bus, and Rs 5 more for Mangalore - Udupi.

The sudden action has raised several questions among the people. This service has been considered one of the best for its comfort and quick service for people who travel in this route.

"This is nothing but government's plan to stop the bus service in this region, and make way for cent percent introduction of private operators," said angered passengers who have been making use of this service since its inception more than a year back.

"This is a private bus operators' lobby, our home minister is slowly bowing down to their pressure. This KSRTC service has been a great boon to the people of this region, and I am one of the regular passengers using this service. I can see the bus running to full capacity every day. What is the need for increasing the price all of sudden? This is nothing but an attempt to put a fullstop to this service. When the price is raised by such a big margin, people will of course shift from KSRTC to private buses," says another woman passengers who uses this service from Udupi to Mangalore.

"When private express buses charge only Rs 44 from Mangalore to Udupi, why should we pay double in KSRTC? In private buses you can even pay Rs 23 and travel between Mangalore - Udupi if you are eligible for concerssion rate," a regular traveller who gets concession told Daijiworld.

"Just imagine, private bus operators are first to raise the price every time, but now KSRTC has done it, while private buses have not announced any increase in the price. This proves that something is fishy. No wonder if KSRTC withdraws the buses soon, claiming 'poor response' from passenegers,"  he said.