Bengaluru: In anticipation of the Deepavali holiday rush, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has announced special transport arrangements, deploying around 2,500 additional buses to handle the surge in passenger traffic.
The move aims to ensure that people residing in cities can travel to their hometowns and celebrate the festival of lights without inconvenience. Officials said this special service, arranged every year during major festivals, will operate between October 17 and October 20, ahead of Naraka Chaturdashi on October 20 and Bali Padyami on October 22.
Following the festive weekend, return services from various parts of the state and neighbouring states to Bengaluru will run on October 22 and October 26, KSRTC said in a statement.
Routes and operations
Special buses will be operated from Kempegowda Bus Station (Majestic) to major destinations such as Dharmasthala, Kukke Subrahmanya, Shivamogga, Hassan, Mangaluru, Kundapura, Sringeri, Horanadu, Davanagere, Hubballi, Dharwad, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Gokarna, Sirsi, Karwar, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Ballari, Koppal, Yadgir, Bidar, Tirupati, Vijayawada and Hyderabad.
From the Mysuru Road Bus Station, services will operate towards Mysuru, Hunsur, Periyapatna, Virajpet, Kushalnagar, and Madikeri routes.
Buses to Tamil Nadu and Kerala — including Madurai, Kumbakonam, Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchi, Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam, and Kozhikode — will depart from the Shantinagar BMTC Bus Station.
Online booking and discounts
Passengers can book tickets online through www.ksrtc.karnataka.gov.in or at KSRTC reservation counters across Karnataka and other states.
To encourage advance booking, KSRTC is offering a 5% discount for group bookings of four or more passengers, and a 10% discount on return fares if both onward and return tickets are booked together.
Authorities have urged passengers to check their boarding points carefully before arrival at the bus station. The details of all special buses, departure points, and timings are available on the KSRTC website and ticketing system.
Special services will also be arranged from all district and taluk bus stations, depending on passenger demand, the corporation added.
