A city like Mysore needs more mini buses with good frequency. Occupancy level is less hence frequency is lkept ess which can be balanced by using more mini buses and increasing the staff and there by increasing the frequency level also keeping the occupancy level reasonable.

Why not Tata Starbus or some other 30 seater buses?

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Hi Vasanth

Hope you are also residing in Mysore.  You must have noticed that not many people travel to CBD from extensions like Kuvempunagar, Vijayanagar, etc., because most of the new extns.,  are self contained with their own CBDs on Main Roads, albeit with less choice.  Once in a while they do travel if there are bulk purchases to be made at Devaraja Market or official purposes around DC office.

Cross-city travelling via CBD is much less compared to Bengaluru. This augurs well for a manageable city transport.   Mysore city roads are much broader, cleaner and are maintained well.  Some roads in interior areas are unkempt, cramped with unplanned growth and irresponsible citizens who does not want to give up their birth right of throwing garbage right in the middle of the road, say like Mandi Mohalla, Kumbarara Keri, Eediga etc.  But ORR and other extensions are coming up so fast that it will not be a wonder if a messy situation is very much around the corner like Bengaluru.   As it is, most of the available land in Mysoru has been gobbled up by middle men with power of attorney holdings with finance pouring in from all corners of the world.  Dattagalli area is already under occupation of a so called cosmopolitan / page 3 / who are they(?) people,  but has earned the dubious distinction of 'least voting' percentage. 

As you have pointed out, since bus occupancy is less, KSRTC need not splurge and go in for providing hi-end buses like Volvos, Big10, HoHos (bleeding BMTC in Bengaluru).  It is better to invest prudently in Mini buses, whose frequent running can be economical and there will be less congestion on roads and help those in extensions to use public transport instead of taking out their two wheelers or four wheelers. Population of Mysoru is an admixture of rural and urban people and there exists that oriental touch in most of the things in Mysoru.

There is no necessity to increase the staff to run these mini buses.  Drivers of Mini Buses can be made responsible for issuing tickets and also running with some incentive.  This will serve the dual purposes of speedy transport at economical rates.  Money thus saved in purchasing big buses can be invested for providing clean, economical and fast mode of transport.  Big buses can be put on ORR etc., after a study about their economical viability.

Mysoreans love their city and have developed an affinity and would not like to see the greenery and the heritage value destroyed in the name of development. This can be a signal to the city planners and please for god's sake, do not make Mysore another hell hole like Bengaluru.  If development has to take place, leave the old city alone and go 25 kms., away from the epicenter Palace and embark on developments that are clean and green.  Another request is, please do not permit any kind of industrial activity that spews CO2 and Green House Gases.  Mysore is on a flat land / plateau except for Chamundi Hills and stop encroaching the only heritage value Hillock.

 -Vasanthkumar Mysoremath

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VasanthKumar Sir, agree with you.

I currently live in Bangalore, but born and bought up in Mysore. Whenever I come to Mysore, I face the problem of transport. I spend to auto more than the fare between Bangalore and Mysore due to lack of public transport. If I get bike of some friend, it will be easy to movearound, not otherwise paying hefty amount to auto.

I used to live in Vidyaranyapuram / Chamundipuram border. This week I had come to Mysore and had to travel from Chamundipuram to Siddhartha Layout. Waited for Bus to goto CBS and then to Siddhartha Layout. None of the bus turned up in Chamundipuram even after waiting 30 minutes. In Bangalore one or the other buses will be coming either if it is going in your direction or not, but, in Mysore, you don't see even a single bus even after 30 minutes of waiting which is highly annoying. Finally I took an auto again!!!. With a private transport, you can reach the other end of Mysore within 30 minutes!!!.

Localities like Udayagiri, NR Mohalla are all fully auto oriented running on packed shared autos. Why? Due to absence of buses.

Someone has to take the initiative to work with the Mysore city bus corporation. We also need an organization like ABIDe to be established and work for the development of Mysore with a definitive goal, especially in the front of Public Transport.

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I fully agree about providing links to suburbs without necessarily going to city. This is a throw back to several decades ago when city was small and CBS was center of all life.

There are so many people going from Vivekananda Circle / SBM / Kuvemput Nagar areas to JP Nagar / Sterling  and also from these areas to Ganapathy Sachidananda Ashram etc. There are also school kids and others taking this route back and forth.

A bus route connecting, say, Kuvempu Nagar to CBS via Vivekananda Circle, SBM Layout, JPNagar, Sterling to Nanjangud Road and then to CBS or even going on a loop will enjoy good patronage.

There could be many other routes like this that avoid a round trip to CBS.

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KSRTC/Mysore City Transport Divison must immediately undertake a systematic study of the trip sheets of conductors, commuting volume,  number of trips scheduled,  actual trips done, revenue pattern, diesel consumption, traffic movement, provision of bus shelters/bus bays enroute and dedicated bus routes.  If this is done now and before Mysore reaches a saturation point, it will enable itself to adopt a viable solution for speedy commuting experience to the public with a furturistic ambience.  

These things must be done on a priority basis.  A systematic plan of action that is adaptable, replicable, sustainable, economically viable with a touch of human interface ableit for fulfilling the social obligation in the trsnsport sector (unlike BMTC's highly controversial and stratified approach with Volvos/Big10/HoHo) for the local populace must be drawn up, discussed with civil society, take suggestions and adopt them in a phased manner.

It is public money, public needs and give the public what they want.  Participatory democracy and prudent utilisation of available money can be better utilised with these paramters and if the authorities.  This way, legal tangles, unnecessary criticism and waste of public funds can be avoided.  The staff of KSRTC must be properly trained in behaviour science, dedication and mannerisms while dealing with commuters. 

Commuters must also remember that all these will be possible only if they also cooperate with the authorities in keeping the buses clean and by not discarding kadalekaai sippe etc., inside the buses insist and buy tickets etc.

Since Autorickshaws in Mysore are notoriously fleecing gullible users, if KSRTC really wants to discharge its obligation of providing safe, secure and fast mode of commuting experience and for earning the goodwill of people, they must immediately embark on these suggestions and make it a success. 

It is now or never or before it is too late to make online corrections.

- Vasanthkumar Mysoremath 

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Many organizations like BMLTA, BATF and MATF have become dummy without any active participation in any of the restructuring. Oganizations like DIMITS are working actively with participation of  IIT professors too as members.

ABIDe is better, functional with active participation by members like Prof. Ashwin Mahesh.

I heard about an organization called MGP in Mysore. Don't know what they are upto.

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