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MANGALORE: With Mangalore-Mumbai airfare touching Rs 19,000, Laxmi Narayan Alva on Sunday found it affordable to take a bus to Mumbai. He is one among many who prefer buses to flights for long distance travels.

 Reason: The fares that peaked from April end still have not come down. And it is private bus operators who are reaping the benefits with train tickets not easily available. While private operators charge Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 on Volvos to Mumbai, KSRTC fares are capped at Rs 1,900 for peak season.

 Alva who travelled on a private semi-sleeper paid Rs 2,100. "The sleeper charges were Rs 3,000. I usually book air tickets through my agent and he said ticket fare was Rs 19,000 on Sunday, but said he could offer it to me for Rs 13,000 due to his frequent flyer status. This was a trip on a short notice hence I could not book tickets in advance,’’ he said, noting that fares booked in advance are as low as Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 during peak season.
KSRTC has two Volvo services to Mumbai which leave at 1pm and 2pm daily.

 KSRTC official alleged private buses operate illegally using All India Tourist permit instead of inter-state carriage permit. "There are 98 trips to Bangalore and an equal number operating towards Hubli, Belgaum, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. All these are illegal and RTO is turning a blind eye,’’ the official alleged.

 Private operators have 15 daily trips to Mumbai as against KSRTC’s two.

 RTO Afzal Ahmed Khan said private buses cannot pick passengers on tourist permit and they have to act as contract carriages picking a group from point A and drop them at point B. But a high court ruling says that passengers can be given individual tickets. "We can detain buses for this violation, but it causes inconvenience to passengers. Moreover KSRTC does not have the fleet to cater to passengers travelling by bus," he added.

 The KSRTC official said this is just a ruse to escape responsibility, but admitted that they cannot replace the existing number that is being operated by private players, since they are governed by rules and regulations unlike private players. "This is the reason why there are accidents and no accountability," the official added.