Team Herald
ARAMBOL: The irregular bus trips on Keri to Pernem and Keri to Mapusa routes are causing severe inconvenience to the local passengers, prompting them to demand for nationalisation of the routes to streamline the bus journeys.
“This has been going on for several days and workers, both the government and private, are suffering. The buses which were earlier available at an interval of every half-an-hour, now come after a gap of over an hour,” said Audumbar Harmalkar, one of the frequent bus travellers.
“Usually, after the KTC bus on the Pernem route which comes at 7:15 am, the private one arrives at 8:30 am. The private buses are lately showing up at 9:30,” he added.
“The buses leaving from Mapusa depart after one to one-and-a-half hours. It is not easy to stand and travel for 25-30 km. The bus owners are doing this purposely to get more passengers,” said Aniket Pednekar, a student.
Some passengers also noted that due to the wedding season being at its peak, private buses have been taken on rent, which is causing inconvenience to the regular bus users. “Regardless of the reasons, bus drivers cannot divert the journey as per their whims, to suit their personal benefits. Such bus owners should be penalised as they do not take prior permission to use their vehicles for commercial purposes,” said a passenger.
