Bengaluru: Private bus companies have been fleecing from commuters who want to get home for the Diwali festival. The bus owners continue to charge three times the rate for tickets despite the transport department’s warnings.
There is a continuous 5-day holiday for Diwali including 4th Saturday on October 23 and thousands of people from Bengaluru are heading towards native since Friday evening.
Capitalising on this, private buses are charging two to three times the normal ticket price from the passengers.
Many complaints have been filed with State Transport Department regarding the charging of expensive fares and for the last couple of days, the authorities have been conducting operations against such private buses. In Bengaluru, 8 teams of the transport department are checking the difference between bus fares before Diwali and the current fare and filing a case.
This is not the new practice of private bus operators. Every year during the Ganesha festival particularly Diwali, they fleece commuters.
It is inevitable for passengers also as they could not get the ticket in train and KSRTC buses. Though the KSRTC plying more than 1000 buses to cater rush of Diwali, it is not enough to transport people as Bengaluru is the hub of employment for all kinds of people across the State.
Three days back, State Transport Minister Sriramulu warned that the permit will be cancelled if private operators charge more money from passengers. However, private bus owners have not changed their ways.
Few AC sleeper coach buses charge Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 4,000 per seat for Bengaluru to Hubballi now, while airfare for the same is Rs. 4,800. The Bengaluru- Mangauru AC sleeper coach price is Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 3500 while airfare is Rs. 3,700.
Private bus operators are charging Rs. 2,700 to Rs. 4,000 per seat for Bengaluru-Belagavi. Non-AC buses charge Rs. 1,600 to Rs. 2,600 for the same. They also charge Rs. 4,000 for Karwar from Bengaluru, Rs 4,200 to Goa, and Rs. 4,000 to Hyderabad while the normal price is rs 1500-2000.
Even the KSRTC charges Rs. 10 extra for Bengaluru -Mysuru non-stop services. The normal fare between the two cities is Rs. 140 on ordinary buses, and KSRTC hiked Rs. 10. This move was also criticised by commuters on social media.
