BANGALORE: Sensing a boom in the tourist season due to a good monsoon, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has decided to lure students by offering buses on casual contract for educational tours with attractive fares and gifts to students and schools.

The measure is one among various efforts of the KSRTC to maintain its earnings steady without passing on the burden of diesel price hike to the commuters. Its other initiatives include deploying more than 500 special buses for the coming Dasara, providing brand outlook to its franchised reservation counters, identifying wayside restaurants that offer quality food and toilet facilities and the like.

KSRTC Director (Security, Vigilance and Operations) Bhaskar Rao told presspersons here on Tuesday that the corporation intends to make people use more and more public transport system instead of their own transport, that would offer dual advantage — increased earnings to KSRTC and saving in fuel for the public.

Gifts to students

Mr. Rao said the period between September and February is the season for educational tours and tours this year will be made attractive, thanks to a favourable monsoon. The corporation has decided to offer buses on casual contract to schools at the rate offered to them to transport students during school days.

The corporation will provide drinking water, gifts to students and schools, besides state-of-the art service for such packages, Mr. Rao said. Buses could be hired through the single window system at the casual contract counter situated at the Kempe Gowda Bus Station (9844161197) or at any franchised reservation counter throughout the State, he said.

Special services for Dasara will be operational between October 5 and October 18. The newly commissioned bus terminus on Mysore Road in the city would be utilised for the purpose for buses originating from and terminating at Bangalore, Mr. Rao said.

Franchisee counters

Mr. Rao said the KSRTC has directed all its franchisees to provide KSRTC brand outlook for their counters and said at least 30 among 130 counters will be so done before the Dasara. The measure will help commuters to easily identify the reservation counters, he added.

On wayside eateries, Mr. Rao said KSRTC has tied up with Reliance A1 Plaza at Chitradurga and Hubli to provide quality food and toilet facilities to commuters. These are in addition to tie-ups with Kamat group of hotels at various other places, he added.

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