The Basaveshwara Bus Stand at Peenya has turned out to be a white elephant after the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) invested a whopping Rs 40 crore to build and operate it in 2014. KSRTC’s hopes of earning even the rent from commercial space leased out have been dashed due to poor response from the public.
A KSRTC official said that due to poor response from the general public, the agency which had received the contract to rent out commercial spaces at the bus stand, has not paid the rent to KSRTC for the last one year.
It is said that the agency had agreed to pay Rs 3.20 crore as rent per year. The official said the agency now wants the KSRTC to reduce the rental amount from Rs 41 per square feet, which was fixed earlier, to Rs 5 per square feet.
The official said, “The agency should have conducted a marketing analysis prior to quoting the price. But now it is asking the corporation (KSRTC) to lower the rent amount, citing poor response. The agency has not paid the rent as agreed to for the last one year. ”
The bus stand, meanwhile, continues to wear a deserted look with hardly any passengers seen using it to commute, while a majority of the commercial shops there still remain closed.
The KSRTC, in 2014, had started bus services from Basaveshwara Bus Stand to cities and towns in northern parts of the state like Hubballi, Davanagere, Chitradurga, Haveri, Belgavi and other destinations.
The KSRTC had started 140-odd bus services from the bus stand after shifting the services from Majestic Bus Stand.
However, within a few days of shifting the services, the KSRTC incurred a huge loss as there were no takers for services Basaveshwara Bus Stand after the services were shifted there from Majestic.
There were various reasons why KSRTC failed to get the patronage from the general public. One of the prominent ones is that the existing bus stand is not very close to Tumakuru Road with passengers having to shell out additional money to commute from Majestic or other points to reach the destination. Even now, passengers prefer to board the buses by waiting on Tumakuru Road at designated points rather than go to Basaveshwara Bus Stand, which is about 800 metres inside.
On the other hand, shifting of the bus service had benefited private operators who were operating from Majestic areas.
Considering these points, and the huge losses it incurred, the KSRTC finally decided to restore the services to Majestic.
Another official said, “At present, 700-odd north-bound buses make at Basaveshwara Bus Stand en-route. No north bound buses are operated from Peenya as the starting point. We are hoping that in the coming days people would use the bus stand as it is located in a very busy area and is also very close to the metro line.”
Transport minister Ramalinga Reddy said, “The previous government had sanctioned the project without applying the mind. It is a fact that a few passengers use the bus stand to commute as there is poor response there are no business to the commercial establishments in the vicinity. The contractor who had received the contract to rent out spaces in the bus stand invested in crores but not getting good returns. He has asked Corporation to lower the rental charge but legally it is not correct. We have sought the opinion of legal department on the issue.”
However, the official pointed out that five interstate buses operate from Peenya to Kerala.
