Bengaluru: After the success of KSRTC fly bus service from BIAL to Mysuru, Transport Minister Revanna inaugurated three more services, two to Salem and one to Madikeri from the Airport. The first of its kind in country, the service provides interstate connectivity to the Airport. The luxury Volvo buses have in-built toilets, saving passengers the inconvenience during long-distance travel.
“Now, we have six fly buses to Mysuru and two to Kundapura. Apart from the three inaugurated today (Monday), we plan to extend services to Tirupati and Kozhikode. Fly buses have live flight details, 12 gears to support the back wheel as opposed to other Volvos that have 6+1 gears, backdoor emergency exit and minimal consumption of diesel," said Mr Revanna.
Assistant vice-president of BIAL, Mr Venkatram, said, “Our survey showed that passengers prefer coming to Bengaluru Airport instead of Chennai Airport to go to nearby places like Mangaluru, Udupi, Manipal, Madikeri, Mysuru, Kundapura and Salem. With the 2nd Terminal coming up, we will ensure the buses stop near it.” The tickets are priced at Rs 800 to Salem and Rs 1,000 to Madikeri, plus 5 % GST. Mr Revanna said that commuters prefer taking the bus from the airport, rather than travel all the way to the Satellite terminal.
KSRTC General Manager (Traffic) K.S. Vishwanath said that earnings from Fly Bus Mysuru are good. “We spend Rs 40 per km and earn Rs 70 in return. There is definitely a profit. Pantry services within the bus were not much of a hit with passengers, and we withdrew it this time," he said.
Mr Revanna said, “We are collaborating with other state transport corporations in Telangana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. We are yet to get Kerala Transport Department to coordinate with us. This will help us extend more services.”
