Kochi: In a relief to hundreds of Malayalis travelling back home during Onam, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has announced special services in the heavy demand Bengaluru sector.
"We'll operate 20 special services in the first phase. It will be announced in advance this time so that commuters can plan their journey and won't fall prey to exploitation by private luxury operators. All additional services, to be operated from September four to 16, will have online reservation facilities," said a senior KSRTC official in charge of the operations.
The daily special services to Bengaluru will be operated from Kozhikode (7.35 pm, 8.35 pm), Thrissur (7.15 pm), Ernakulam (5.30 pm), Kottayam (5 pm), Kannur (8 pm) and Payyannur (5.30 pm) depots.
In return direction, the daily services are available from Bengaluru to Kozhikode (9.20 pm, 9.45 pm), Thrissur (7.15 pm), Ernakulam (6.30 pm), Kottayam (6 pm), Kannur (9.01 pm) and Payyannur (10.15 pm).
The maximum non-resident Keralites from cities like Mangaluru travel back home during Onam. In the previous occasion, the special services were announced just a week to go for the festive season as private buses charges upto Rs 3000 for travel in a single direction.
"We'll be deploying more services based on the rush of commuters during the festive season. Our counterpart Karnataka RTC will also be operating a similar number of services in the section so as to provide adequate travelling option to commuters," the official said.
