Bengaluru: Following the recent private bus accident in Mandya, which killed nearly 30 people, the government is planning to operate more public transport buses in rural areas and provide special offers to attract passengers.
The bus had fallen into a canal in Mandya last Saturday and many got trapped after the doors got jammed and it lacked an emergency exit. A subsequent inspection of private buses in the state revealed that most of them were unsafe.
"Most people in rural areas prefer private transport, because of low fares, which is almost half of government bus rates. Hence most KSRTC buses in rural areas are running at a loss," a transport department official told Deccan Chronicle.
Most private bus operators compromise on safety by not providing emergency exits, as they can add two more seats.
"KSRTC will now run buses at low fares so that more people in rural areas use public transport. This will be very helpful for them in terms of safety and avoid such accidents in future," officially added.
However, the people complain that most public transport buses too are not in good condition. "They tell us to use public transport as they are safe, but we have observed that most of these buses plying in rural areas are old and in bad condition. They have already run for long periods in the city. Hence people think that it's better to use a private bus. This plan of attracting people to public transport will work only if the corporation operates new buses," said Sridhar, a regular KSRTC commuter.
