There was poor response to the limited bus service provided by the private bus operators on some routes in Udupi district on Monday.
Usually, the Udupi-Mangaluru route is the busiest. Private buses began operating services on this route only today after the lockdown was announced in March. But while there were passengers on buses to Mangaluru, Bhaskar, a bus conductor, said here that the response was poor.
There was, however, some increase in the number of passengers on the Udupi-Kundapur route. A private firm, Bharati, started its operations on Udupi-Kundapur on May 13 when the district administration allowed private operators to start their operations. Other companies too began their operations on this route.
“Compared to the last two days, the response is better today. But we still require more passengers,” said Rajanna, bus conductor. “People have made arrangements with their friends and relatives to reach their places of work on two-wheelers or four-wheelers. It will take a week for passengers to come back to buses,” said Sadik, another bus conductor.
Meanwhile, after providing a week-long free service in Udupi city, private operators today started charging passengers for their travel. “The response is lukewarm,” said Preetam Kumar, bus conductor.
General secretary of Canara Bus Operators Association and president of Udupi Private City Bus Owners Association Kuilady Suresh Nayak said: “The response is very poor for both city and service routes. We hope it will improve in the coming days.”
