Ahead Of Karnataka Elections, EC To Use BMTC, KSRTC Buses; Know More

Karnataka Assembly elections are around the corner and the voting will take place on May 10. The counting will be carried out on May 13 and the results will be declared the same day. There is a possibility that public transport will face disruption in the state in several cities including Bengaluru for a few days.

This time the Assembly elections will take place in a single phase. Hence, the Election Commission will require buses in large numbers for poll-related work from May 5 to May 13. The BMTC and KSRTC buses will be booked by election officials during this time causing a severe disruption for the public.

At present, a total of 1000 BMTC buses have been booked for 28 assembly constituencies under BBMP. Besides, 800 RTO vehicles are being used for screening and SCADs. Government buses are being used for drop-pickup and many election work for the personnel of the police department, BBMP, RTO, and transport department.

The general public can expect a shortage of buses from May 5 to May 13 due to this reason. Earlier this month, the state government had fixed fares for road transport buses and private vehicles for hire. The buses were in high demand to travel people to more than 50 political rallies that were held in Karnataka in the past few weeks.

The state government had fixed the rates as follows – 57.5 per km or Rs 11,500 per day for KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC and KSRTC buses. Private buses cost Rs 43.5 per km or Rs 8,700 per day in Bengaluru. Otherwise, their rent is Rs 42.5 per km or Rs 8,200 per day.

Political rallies held on March 26 saw several commuters facing issues due to the reduced number of buses in the capital city, Bengaluru. BMTC had hired 1,350 buses for rallies. On the same day, 2,000 KSRTC buses were booked for a political rally in Mysore. Currently, KSRTC has 8,100 buses and BMTC has 6,758 buses in the state.

Keywords: Karnataka elections buses, bus shortages during elections in Karnataka, public transport to be disrupted due to elections in May, May 5 to May 13 Karnataka Election to cause public transport disruption

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