Kochi: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) would start operating 73 new services to various destinations in Karnataka from next week as per the renewed interstate agreement with the neighbouring state. “The new destinations include Virajpet, K. R. Nagar and Kollegal among others. We’ll operate frequent services to Bengaluru, Mysore, Mangalapuram and Kollur. The services will be operated from Kozhikode, Payyanur, Kasargod, Kannur, Palakkad, Vadakara, Thrissur and Alpuzha among others,” said a senior KSRTC official.
Though most of the services are either Super Deluxe, Express and Super Fast class, ordinary and Fast Passenger services will be operated in the Kanjangad-Mangalore route. Additional services to Bengaluru and Mysore will be operated from Kozhikode, Payyanur, Kannur and Kasargode, a Super Deluxe service will be started to Kollur from Alapuzha. The initiative comes two weeks after the KSRTC started ‘Weekend’ services to Bengaluru, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kozhikode.
“The buses to Bengaluru will initially ply through the longer Manathavaday- Kutta route but would operate via Salem once the interstate reciprocal transport agreement with Tamil Nadu is signed, a process expected to be completed in a month’s time,” the official said. Meanwhile, charges have been raised from various quarters that the corporation has failed to schedule its Bengaluru services properly. For instance, the corporation got only a few permits to operate via Salem, the shortest route. One of them is being operated from Ernakulam. Though the route enjoys heavy commuter demand, it failed to rake in huge profits.
