Bengaluru: In a welcome move, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has decided to run dedicated bus fleets exclusively for garment workers on subsidiary fare in and around Bengaluru city.
The buses will ply on routes that has considerable size of garment factories like Tumkur road, Mysore road and others.
The fare would be 50 percent lower than the normal fare.
Bengaluru city has quiet sizeable number of garment factory workers, estimated around 8 lakh workers and most of them commute daily from nearby townships like Ramnagara, Bidadi, Chennapatna, Dabuspete, Tumkur and others.
Generally these workers are paid scantily and it is hard to meet the expenses.
The move has been welcomed by several workers’ associations including KSRTC workers’ association.
Citing the problems faced by them, especially who commute daily from other places, KSRTC has decided to launch these dedicated services from June 1.
The garment women workers are said to be more vulnerable for sexual assault cases due to their shift timings and dependency on private vehicles in the night while returning home.
The service will be launched on pilot project with three buses fleeting on Mysore road, Magadi road and Tumkur road.
The number of fleets will be escalated gradually with 100 more buses, the KSRTC statement said
