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The flybus service of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) Plan to extend to Kundapura

The service will be available from Sept. 27 till Kundapura

The flybus service of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTS) between Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) and Manipal has been getting a good response with average occupancy rate of about 70 per cent.

Launched on August 20, the service was modelled on KIA-Mysuru flybus following demands from the travelling public between coastal Karnataka and the KIA.

Since Manipal and Mangaluru have been educational hubs attracting students from across the country, many used to travel using KIA.

However, they were forced to travel all the way to the heart of Bengaluru to get a connecting bus service either to Mangaluru or Manipal, said a KSRTC senior official.

The officer said at least 10 seats are booked from KIA while the numbers are more from Manipal every day.

Another about 20 seats are occupied en-route in Bengaluru—Kogilu Cross, Gangenahalli (CBI), Yeshwantpur and Jalahalli Cross.

Similarly, seats get filled up at Udupi and Mangaluru, not only by KIA-bound passengers, but also those travelling to suburbs of Bengaluru and places around Yelahanka, the officer said. The coach can seat 41 passengers.

At present, the cost per km of the operation of this service is about Rs. 46 while the earnings per km is Rs. 42. It is a matter of couple of months before the corporation achieves the break even in the operational costs, the officer said.

The officer said the corporation had been receiving representations from travelling public to extend the services to Kundapura, a distance of about 39 km.

Even otherwise, the bus has to make a trip to Kundapura and back to Udupi as KSRTC’s nearest bus depot is located in that town, the officer said.

People intending to travel comfortably have a liking for the multi-axle bus service of KSRTC, while the flybus has additional features, namely, chemical toilet, pantry and live entertainment with 60-plus channels, he said.

As such, the corporation has decided to extend the service to Kundapura from September 27.

The KSRTC has also tweaked the timings of operation of the service following feedback from passengers and KIA authorities, the official said.

Instead of departing at 10 p.m. from KIA, the service would depart at 9 p.m. to reach Kundapura at 6.45 p.m.

Return journey

Similarly, in the return journey, the service would leave Manipal at 7.45 p.m. instead of the earlier 10 p.m., after departing Kundapura at 7 p.m. At Mangaluru, the service leaves at 9.30 p.m. to reach KIA at 4.45 a.m. While the fares between KIA-Mangaluru and KIA-Udupi/Manipal will remain at Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 1,100 respectively, that of Kundapura would be Rs. 1,150.

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), which is already operating two flybuses on two each trips between Kempegowda Internatinal Airport and Mysure, is planning to introduce one more bus.

The addition is planned following good response from passengers travelling between the airport and Mysuru, said a senior KSRTC official. The date of introduction is however yet to be decided. Similarly, KSRTC is working on proposals to introduce similar non-stop services between KIA-Tirupati and KIA-Coimbatore, the officer added.