Mangaluru-Kasaragod bus operations back, 8 months on

MANGALURU: Inter-state bus services between Mangaluru and Kasaragod in Kerala, which were halted in March after the lockdown was enforced, resumed after a gap of eight months on Monday.
During the lockdown, daily commuters involved in essential services were allowed to travel in their private vehicles after registering online as per Covid-19 guidelines. These restrictions were later removed, but bus services on either side were truncated at Talapady border till Monday.
People had raised concerns, saying the suspension of regular services affected their employment and commercial activities in both districts.
Finally on Monday, Karnataka and Kerala state road transport corporations began operating schedules by deploying 20 buses each. Both corporations are expected to run 120 single trips each per day, said KSRTC Mangaluru divisional controller SN Arun.
The two state-run bus corporations had operated 40 buses each and 240 single trips between Mangaluru and Kasaragod prior to the lockdown. An average 15,000 people commute between the two districts every day. KSRTC officials said they will soon decide on increasing the number of buses after gauging the response.