Editor, Goemkarponn
AERIAL VIEW
As per the information given by the KTCL, passengers will be charged fees ranging from Rs 250 to Rs 500 according to the destination.
A bus ride to Mapusa would be Rs 200, the ones to Calangute and Panaji would be Rs 250, while for Margao, it would be Rs 500 per person. Buses plying from all the designated boarding points will have one-hour intervals. The service will commence on January 5.
Shocking rates, right?
The rates are on par with what the taxi operators charge, and instead of providing some relief, the government seems to have started the loot themselves.
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
Well, State Government on Tuesday announced that it would deploy 49 electric buses from Mopa International Airport to various destinations like Mapusa, Calangute, Panaji and Margao.
The initiative is highly appreciable, given that there was no choice of transport for Dabolim, and with only a few buses plying from the airport to Calangute, it gave a monopoly to the taxi operators in the State.
There has been a long debate and discussion about why the State government does not deploy enough buses to the airport as with other States, where there are many commuting options like buses, metros and yellow-black taxis and app-based taxis.
Now though the government, through the Kadamba Transport Development Corporation, has deployed 6 buses to ply, what is shocking is the prices.
As per the information given by the KTCL, passengers will be charged fees ranging from Rs 250 to Rs 500 according to the destination.
A bus ride to Mapusa would be Rs 200, the ones to Calangute and Panaji would be Rs 250, while for Margao, it would be Rs 500 per person. Buses plying from all the designated boarding points will have one-hour intervals. The service will commence on January 5.
Shocking rates, right?
The rates are on par with what the taxi operators charge, and instead of providing some relief, the government seems to have started the loot themselves.
Consider this, If a family of four take a bus to Margao, it would be Rs 2000 for four and the taxis in Goa charge the same. Isn’t it ridiculous?
The KTCL current rates from Panaji to Dabolim or Margao range from Rs 50-Rs 60, and considering the distance, the rates could have been Rs 100 or Rs 150. Why Rs 500?
Even if a 30-seater bus ferries passengers, it would make Rs 15000 per trip. Despite this, the KTCL will say it will run into losses, isn’t it?
If the taxi operators had charged a little more, the same Transport Minister would have called the taxi operators mafia looting the tourists. Now, what about the KTCL? Is it the new way of looting tourists?
Why can’t we have an affordable transport system in place? With the above rates, Kadamba Transport Corporation would be India’s costliest public transport model, charging Rs 10 per every kilometre from the passengers.
What is the use for a tourist family to take this bus? Does it make sense because the buses will ply at a scheduled time while taxis can be taken at any time?
If the government really wanted to give tourists relief, it should have made the transportation by Kadamba affordable so that not only the tourists but also the locals would take the buses to the new Airport at Mopa.
By notifying the insane rates, the KTC and government have given taxi operators a further chance to demand more. The taxis would charge Rs 3000 from Mopa to Margao and Rs 5000 to Rs 6000 to Canacona.
