The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will take a call on continuing its special interstate services to Karnataka in connection with Onam.
The transport undertaking is contemplating to wind up the services that commenced on Tuesday due to poor patronage in the Kerala-Bengaluru and the Bengaluru-Kerala sectors.
To meet social commitments, the buses are being operated from Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, and Kozhikode to Bengaluru. The buses returning from Bengaluru are almost empty and the KSRTC is not even able to meet the cost of the fuel bill.
The KSRTC had announced services from Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kannur, Kozhikode, and Kasargod to Bengaluru and back till September 9. But, poor patronage has forced authorities to cancel schedules from Palakkad, Kannur, and Kasaragod.
The interstate service from Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai via Ernakulam on August 27 and the return journey on August 28 also did not enjoy much patronage.
Meanwhile, poor patronage has also hit its inter-district services. On Saturday, the KSRTC operated 1,757 services in the State. With Onam holidays ahead, the KSRTC operations wing expects a further fall in patronage.
