Bengaluru: Private bus operators make hay as Dasara sees heavy rush for intercity travel

Bengaluru: Private bus operators are making a killing this Dasara as there has been a heavy rush for intercity travel from Bengaluru. They are set to ferry over 40 lakh people during the festive week. Over 2,500 private operators and 21 RTC buses are geared to handle the festival rush.

The Bengaluru-Hyderabad route is witnessing the highest demand. Around 40 lakh passengers are expected to travel between 11-17 October.

According to the data from redBus, the leading bus ticket booking platform, there has been a marked increase in the number of bookings during the week of Dasara festival, with the top routes witnessing highest number of bookings in routes (to and fro) Bangalore-Hyderabad, Bangalore-Chennai, Bangalore-Goa, Bangalore-Coimbatore, Chennai-Coimbatore, Chennai-Madurai, Kolkata-Durgapur (WB), Delhi-Manali, Pune-Goa and Pune- Mumbai.

In all, about 50,000 buses including 30,000 belonging to State RTCs across the country will ply across one lakh plus routes, covering a distance of 61 crore km during the upcoming festival.

Air-conditioned buses are making a strong come-back with demand for seater and sleeper A/C buses increasing from 53 percent last year to 72 percent this year, largely due to fading fears of the pandemic.

For Diwali this year, the shortest intercity bus route booked in the country is between Guwahati and Machkhowa in Assam, covering a distance of 4.9 kilometres in 20 minutes and the longest is between Bangalore and Thalodi (Rajasthan), covering a distance of 2,086 km in 37 hours.

Speaking on the positive travel trends during this season, Prakash Sangam, CEO, redBus, said, "We are witnessing a strong recovery in travel sentiment as people are queuing up to travel to their hometowns for Dasara.

This is a welcome sign and a strong impetus for growth and sustenance of the intercity bus industry. As people look to resume travelling without any restrictions, we, along with our partner bus operators, are committed to providing a safe and comfortable travel experience for millions of travellers. We are fairly optimistic about the industry's path to a full recovery in the near term as bus travel gathers steam with each passing day."