KSRTC’s interstate bus plan hits hurdle

  • | Saturday | 19th January, 2019

In fact, we are not imposing any such passenger tax on other state buses plying in Karnataka. “We are ready to operate buses to Rajasthan or Delhi, but we can do little if other states do not cooperate with us. At present, KSRTC operates 50 buses to Maharashtra.Sources say Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) is not keen on KSRTC operating buses via their state to Gujarat. However, KSRTC officials said higher tax will only make tickets costlier.“We’ve asked Maharashtra to exempt KSRTC from passenger tax, but there has been no positive response. At present, KSRTC runs 365 buses to Andhra Pradesh, 180 to Kerala, 52 to Telangana and 22 to Goa.

BENGALURU: Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation’s move to operate more interstate buses seems to have hit a roadblock with other states not willing to sign reciprocal agreements with KSRTC They fear inking a deal will only benefit KSRTC as it has more luxury buses and offers better service compared to their own state road transport undertakings (SRTUs).A KSRTC official said the corporation had proposed to operate luxury buses, for the first time, to cities like Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Surat, Anand and Rajkot in Gujarat. While KSRTC and Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) agreed to operate buses, the proposal remains on paper since these buses have to pass through Maharashtra Maharashtra government insists that KSRTC pay a passenger tax (17.5%) on each ticket for the buses plying to Gujarat through their state. However, KSRTC officials said higher tax will only make tickets costlier.“We’ve asked Maharashtra to exempt KSRTC from passenger tax, but there has been no positive response. In fact, we are not imposing any such passenger tax on other state buses plying in Karnataka. We are hoping these issues would be resolved at the earliest and we can commence services to Gujarat,” said a senior KSRTC official. At present, KSRTC operates 50 buses to Maharashtra.Sources say Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) is not keen on KSRTC operating buses via their state to Gujarat. “In fact, MSRTC is delaying the transport reciprocal agreement with KSRTC. Our services and buses are far better than MSRTC so passengers will naturally prefer KSRTC. MSRTC doesn’t have adequate luxury buses to operate between the two states,” said another KSRTC official.Meanwhile, KSRTC’s plan to operate to various cities in Rajasthan has also been shelved. “We are ready to operate buses to Rajasthan or Delhi, but we can do little if other states do not cooperate with us. However, several private operators are already running services to these cities,” added the official.Some of the southern states are also reluctant to sign an agreement with KSRTC. The corporation has not signed an agreement with Tamil Nadu since 2008. At present, KSRTC operates only 410 buses through TN. KSRTC officials said there is a huge demand for bus services from Bengaluru to various cities in TN as well as Kerala and Puducherry (passing through TN).“We have sent more than 30 letters to TN to conduct bilateral talks but the response has been lukewarm,” said an official. Officials said they had signed agreement only with two states in the recent years: Kerala in 2016 and Goa in 2015. Similarly, an agreement with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has been delayed after the bifurcation. At present, KSRTC runs 365 buses to Andhra Pradesh, 180 to Kerala, 52 to Telangana and 22 to Goa.

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