BANGALORE: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has urged the Government and the local authorities — Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and Bangalore Development Authority — to provide land for construction of satellite bus stations to decongest the central business district (CBD) of the city.

The corporation has proposed to construct satellite bus stations on Tumkur Road, Bellary Road, Old Madras Road, Hosur Road and Kanakapura Road, on the lines of the one on Mysore Road. Sources in KSRTC told The Hindu that the corporation required at least three acres of land each on the trunk routes to build a bus station and the required back-end support like bus depot, filling station and workshop. With the land prices soaring to new heights, it was impossible for the corporation to buy land at the market rate. Of the six trunk routes leading to the CBD, Tumkur Road caters to the highest number of buses of KSRTC, North West KRTC and North East KRTC. All these corporations together operate over one thousand buses on this route. While around 500 buses are operated on Mysore sector, around three hundred buses each are operated on the rest of the routes.

The Kempe Gowda Bus Station (KBS), the nerve centre of the city, catered to arrival and departure of over 2,800 buses in a day, including 500 buses from other States. On special occasions, like the recent pre-Deepavali day, KBS operated 800 buses in addition to the existing services. While the corporation intended to shift intra-State services to the proposed satellite bus stations, it would operate inter-State and luxury buses from KBS itself, the sources said.

Buses from Mysore side, which presently terminate at the Kempe Gowda Bus Station (KBS), would soon be terminated at the satellite bus station. While KSRTC provides feeder services to and from KBS to the satellite bus station, BMTC provides feeder services to and from other parts of the city.

Once the land is allotted, the corporation intends to construct multi-level bus stations. While bus depot, workshop and filling station could be located on the ground floor, bus bays could be provided on the first floor and other passenger amenities on subsequent floors.

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