KSRTC sees sharp rise in ticket bookings during Deepavali, daily reservations cross 62,000

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has recorded a significant increase in advance ticket reservations during the Deepavali festive season this year, with bookings crossing 62,000 per day on two consecutive days, following a series of measures to expand services.

According to KSRTC officials, the corporation recorded an average of around 62,000 seat reservations over the last three days, compared to its earlier daily average of approximately 37,000, during the Deepavali festival last year.

The increase has been attributed to the introduction of additional buses into the online reservation system, expansion of designated pick-up and drop-off points in Bengaluru and an increase in special services to destinations across Karnataka.

The reservation figures show a substantial rise in demand. The number increased to 65,416 on November 6. On November 7, bookings stood at 62,499. The November 6 figure represents an increase of around 77% over the corporation’s earlier daily average of 37,000 reservations, during the festival last year.

Even on November 7, bookings remained significantly higher. Explaining the increase, a senior KSRTC official said the corporation had introduced a system to make additional buses available on the reservation platform whenever existing services were fully booked.

“We started this initiative about a month ago to ensure that passengers do not miss out on reservations due to the unavailability of seats. Whenever all seats in a particular bus are booked, another bus is immediately added to the reservation system for the same route.

Through this initiative, we have brought more than 1,000 additional buses into the online reservation system, allowing passengers to book seats on additional services,” the official said. Another factor contributing to the increase in reservations is the introduction of additional designated pick-up points at 15 locations across Bengaluru.

The measure is aimed at reducing the inconvenience faced by passengers travelling to major bus terminals to board their services, according to officials. Passengers can now select the pick-up point most convenient to them while booking tickets online.

The officials believe that providing boarding facilities closer to residential areas has encouraged more people to opt for KSRTC services. “Expanding the number of designated pick-up points has been particularly beneficial to passengers.

They can choose a boarding location closer to their homes instead of travelling to major bus stations. This convenience has also contributed to the increase in advance reservations,” the official said. Meanwhile, the KSRTC has expanded its special bus operations to meet the additional passenger demand during the Deepavali holidays.

Unlike previous years, when special services were largely concentrated on major destinations, the corporation has extended operations to several other destinations, including important towns and taluk centres across the State.

More than 2,000 special buses were scheduled to operate on November 6 and 7 to various destinations across Karnataka to facilitate the movement of passengers during the festive rush, the official added.