Bus booking in Karnataka halted as lockdown to stay

With the 21-day lockdown set to continue from April 15 for 2 more weeks to contain the coronavirus spread, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) stopped booking tickets, as bus service will also remain suspended till further notice, an official said on Sunday.

Bengaluru, April 12 With the 21-day lockdown set to continue from April 15 for 2 more weeks to contain the coronavirus spread, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) stopped booking tickets, as bus service will also remain suspended till further notice, an official said on Sunday.

"We have stopped ticket bookings from Sunday until further order. We are processing booked tickets for refund, as public transport service will remain suspended during the extended lockdown," a KSRTC official told here.

Though the state-run corporation stopped operating its service on intra-state and inter-state routes since March 25 when the 3-week lockdown was suddenly enforced, it was booking tickets for trips within and outside the state from April 15 onwards.

"About 5,200 tickets were booked in advance, including 4,600 for buses leaving Bengaluru on April 15. They are being cancelled and the amount will be refunded," the official added.

Touted to have the largest air-conditioned Volvo fleet of buses in the country, KSRTC operates services in 17 of the 30 districts across the southern state and to neighbouring states, including Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

The corporation has about 8,650 buses and ferries about 30-lakh passengers daily in normal days. Its subsidiaries in the state's northeast and northwest regions operate services in the remaining 13 districts, transporting about 40-lakh people daily.

( With inputs from IANS )