Kerala Transport Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said on Tuesday that the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation plans to convert Bengaluru to a hub for its other inter-state operations. He was speaking after inaugurating KSRTC’s first franchisee booking counter at Madiwala in the city.
“Apart from operating in cities in Kerala, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation plans to convert Bengaluru as a hub for its inter-state bus operations. Right now, the first franchisee has been given to Padikkal Tours and Travels, and people can book seats on a bus to Kannur. After gauging the success of this first initiative, more buses will be introduced to places like Kottayam and Kasargod. Priority is being given to the Malabar region,” said Radhakrishnan.
This is the first time that Kerala State Road Transport Corporation has allotted a franchise for its bus operations.Henceforth, customers can make seat bookings directly from the Padikkal office located in Madiwala, while earlier, only online bookings on the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation website were allowed.
Manoj Padikkal of Padikkal Tours and Travels told Express that Kerala State Road Transport Corporation plans on introducing 16 more multi-axle buses to Karnataka in the future. “This is a part of the policy change of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation. Since they do not want to involve themselves to a large extent in the ticketing front, this franchise has been allotted. There are plans to launch more such franchisees. Booking can be done between 7 am and 11.00 am at our office, and the bus will stop right outside, for customers’ convenience,” he added.
News Source : The New Indian Express