Mangaluru : Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim has said that there is no proposal to revise bus fares in Dakshina Kannada district. The fare will be revised once in six months as per the rules.

Speaking at the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) meet here on Thursday, he said that with the decline in price of petrol and diesel, the bus fare can not be changed frequently. Bus owners also felt that decline in the price of diesel should not be the only criteria for reducing the bus fare.

The Deputy Commissioner directed RTO Afzal Ahmed Khan to issue permanent permits to KSRTC buses plying on six routes including three to Mudipu, one to Someshwara before November 30. The buses should start operating by December 10.

Out of two buses that ply to Bajpe, one can ply between railway station and Bajpe town and another can ply between railway station and Bajpe Airport. KSRTC should introduce Volvo bus services between Mangalore International Airport and Mangalore Railway Station. He gave green signal to start bus services on nine routes.

A private bus owner who paid penalty for violation of route came down heavily against the RTO for his silence against violation of rules by the bus owners.

Superintendent of Police Sharanappa suggested bus owners to file a complaint on violation of rules. The names of the complainant will be kept confidential. The RTO said that 450 complaints on violation have been registered in the last one year.The RTO said that a proposal has been sent to the government to cancel 20 permits sanctioned to the bus operators for not starting service within time frame. A few permissions have been cancelled for not submitting licenses within given 90 days.

Residents of Haleyangady demanded the Manipal-Udupi express private bus owners to give stoppage at Haleyangady. They said that it was a long pending demand as there are many students who travel between Haleyangady and Manipal. The bus owners said that all Karkal-Mangaluru buses stop at Haleyangady. There are some practical problems in the issue. As bus owners were not ready to agree to the demand, the DC promised of solving the problem within one week.

The public urged the district administration to introduce buses to Addepadi, near Bajpe. “We have submitted memorandum several times in the past to extend bus services to Addepadi from Bajpe. All our demands went in vain,” said the residents. The DC directed the RTO to come to a conclusion within 15 days.

Students complained that beggars have been creating nuisance in the buses. Beggars come inside the buses with pamphlets seeking help. The menace should be checked.

They also accused private buses of not providing 50 per cent concession to students and neglecting the bus pass holders. They also appealed to the DC to issue guidelines to mandatorily reserve seats for women and senior citizens.