Mangalore City Bus Routes

Nobody can miss Mangalore’s city buses. With the names of owners emblazoned across the windshields and painted in a riot of colors, they transport people between various points of the city.

They have been part of the city for a long time. Buses used to run as far back as 1942 in Mangalore. While buses began plying on coastal routes in 1944, in Mangalore, Ullal was connected to the rest of the city by bus in 1965-66 as a bridge was built. Till then, people traveled to Ullal through a launch service from Bunder. There are about 360 private buses in Mangalore with many owners replacing buses in 5-6 years.

[table id=4 /]

Mangalore City Bus Routes
According to the RTO, buses in Mangalore ply on at least 148 routes. Buses on various routes make different numbers of round trips per day. Some buses make three round trips (such as Route No.2G, which connects Bajpe to Surathkal) while some buses make 25 round trips (such as State Bank to Mangaladevi). The total number of trips made per day also varies: while some routes have three (such as Bajpe to Surathkal), some routes have 153 (such as State Bank to Thalapady). Other routes with frequency above 50 trips a day are State Bank to Morgans Gate (152), State Bank to Bondel (108), State Bank to Kodical via Car Street, and via Lalbagh (56), State Bank to Kottara (57), State Bank to Kunjathbail (50), Mangaladevi to Katipalla (66 State Bank to Mangaladevi (50), State Bank to Mulihithlu (75), State Bank to Shediguri via Mannaguda (51), State Bank to Shediguri va Lalbagh (51), State Bank to Akashbhavan (70), State Bank to Kotepura (55), and State Bank to Mangalpete (72).

Bus owners’ turnover may go up to Rs. 9,000 a day per bus depending on the route and time. However, one challenge they face now is that people travel by their own vehicles and students use two-wheelers. However, the number of permits sought by bus owners to operate on more routes is increasing. Issue of permits is being discouraged to avoid further congestion in the city. Infrastructure has to improve if more permits have to be given. “There is a vehicular explosion in Mangalore city,” he said.

One feature of Mangalore’s buses is that while its city buses are entirely in private hands, students and physically challenged persons get a bus pass with up to 60 per cent of the cost subsidized.