Karnataka transport corporations to run buses from Wednesday

The BMTC too said that it has decided to run only 1,500 buses initially only on major traffic routes barring containment zones. "Initially the BMTC will operate 1,500 services in Bengaluru city on major traffic routes, excluding containment zones.

With Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday ruling out extension of the week-long shutdown in the city and elsewhere, the state owned bus corporations said they will operate buses from July 22 as usual. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) today announced they will operate the buses but in limited numbers with caution and restrictions.

The KSRTC runs inter-district and inter-state buses, whereas the BMTC operates its buses in Bengaluru municipal area, Bengaluru urban district and Bengaluru rural district. After the lockdown was imposed from July 14 to July 22 morning to check the spread of the coronavirus, the two transport corporations had stopped their operations in Bengaluru.

"KSRTC will start operations from tomorrow. Initially, we will operate only 2,000 or 2,500 buses," a senior officer in the transport department told PTI. He added that the KSRTC and the BMTC put together might have incurred a revenue loss of about Rs 3,000 crore.

The officer said the KSRTC had reduced its operations, especially the inter-state air-conditioned buses to Kerala and other neighboring states and fully stopped its operation from March 24 to May 18. The BMTC too said that it has decided to run only 1,500 buses initially only on major traffic routes barring containment zones.

"Initially the BMTC will operate 1,500 services in Bengaluru city on major traffic routes, excluding containment zones. Services will be increased based on passenger traffic," the BMTC said in a press release. The transport corporation said its services will be operated between 6 am to 8 pm every day.

As part of its standard operating procedure, the transport corporations said the crew will wear face masks while on duty, use hand sanitizers and maintain hygiene. Buses will be stopped at the designated bus stops for boarding and de-boarding.

They said that face mask and social distancing will be mandatory for the passengers. If all the seats are occupied, passengers should not board the bus and wait for the next one to come, they added.