If you happen to be at Hampankatta (the central business district of Mangaluru) and want to visit the famous Mangaladevi Temple, there is a city bus every six minutes. Likewise, there are buses to various other locations in the city every few minutes.

This is possible because of the adherence of the private bus operators “to the minute schedule” in the city. Dilraj Alva, president of the Dakshina Kannada Bus Operators’ Association, told Business Line that the Mangaluru city bus system began with nine routes 80 years ago. Started in 1939, now 360 buses operate across 160 routes in the city. Alva said a bus in the shortest route operates 22 trips a day and a bus in the longest route operates eight-nine trips a day.

This core network of operators is supported by many long-standing crew members. Suresh Kumar, one such bus conductor with the experience of more than two decades, said the entire city bus system should not be blamed for bad conduct by a small minority. Most crew members speak at least five languages — Kannada, Tulu, Konkani, Malayalam and Hindi.

Profit focus

Asked if the city bus service is a viable proposition, Alva said: “The city bus system, being operated by private operators, has helped contribute to the local economy and provided jobs to many. More than 1200 people are directly employed as crew members in the city buses.

“I myself provide employment to around 50 members, including the crew members and support staff in my workshop.” He said there has been a reduction in the profits because of increase in fuel and other costs. The increase in the number of two-wheelers in the city has affected city bus services.

Asked why State-owned bus corporations are reporting losses at a time when privately managed city bus networks work efficiently, he said maintenance and ownership of the vehicle and the operations play a major role. He said private city bus operators take care of every spare part of the vehicle. “For example, if a tyre of my bus has a capacity to run for 1 lakh km, I take care to remove it at 85,000 km and take up its maintenance.”

“Our staff members have personal attachment with their vehicle that may not be the case in most of the government-run buses,” he said. He said private maxi-cab or jeep operators do not run in the city unlike in many other urban areas in Karnataka. He attributed this to the services rendered by private bus operators in the city.

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