Mangaluru
To deal with the Deepavali rush, the KSRTC Mangaluru division introduced 63 additional buses on Sunday and about 25 additional buses on Monday. Rajesh Shetty, Divisional Controller told that a total of 63 additional buses operated from the Mangaluru division. Of this, the highest number of additional buses operated to Bengaluru, followed by Mysuru, Chikkamagaluru and Hassan.
On a normal day, the division caters to about two lakh passengers in about 545 buses. In the additional buses across all categories, about 5,000 passengers travelled. Meanwhile, on Monday, 23 additional buses are set to operate to clear the additional passenger rush, and the number is likely to increase. All the buses are running full, he said.
63 percent surge in bus bookings
Mangaluru reportedly saw about a 63 percent surge in bus seat bookings during this festive season. A source from the redBus, an online platform said that the data refers to the bus seat bookings on the platform from October 25 to November 3 compared to the non-festive period. Interestingly, 26 percent of the bookings were for AC bus tickets, with women occupying 39 percent of all bus seats. The top routes within Karnataka from Mangaluru were to Bengaluru, followed by Hubali, Mysuru, Belagavi, Dharwad, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Shivamogga, Bagalkot, and Hospet. Among destinations outside Karnataka, the top routes were Mangaluru-Hyderabad, followed by Mumbai, Pune, Goa, and Ernakulam. Interestingly, the top boarding points in Mangaluru city are PVS Circle, Pumpwell and Hampankatta, the redBus spokesperson said.
