OPEN-TOP BUSES

This Dasara, tourists might have an opportunity to go on a city tour in open-top double-decker buses. The Tourism Department is in talks with Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to either offer  buses to the Department or operate such buses on their (KSRTC) own. Around four open-top double-decker buses were introduced in Bengaluru by the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) in 2014 where the buses were used for hop-on and hop-off tours of the city, giving tourists a treat. Open bus concept has received the thumbs up from some urban experts who point out that Kolkata has these double-decker buses, which are now one of its major attractions. In February 2016, the West Bengal government re-introduced these buses that are now used to offer fun rides for tourists in Kolkata. It may be recalled here that in 2006, the State government had introduced such buses for Dasara to cover a distance of 16 km. These internationally-designed buses took tourists around tourist hotspots covering all major attractions such as Mysore Palace, Jaganmohan Palace, Zoo, Town Hall, Karanji Lake, Regional Museum of Natural History, Lalitha Mahal Palace, Railway Museum and the Railway Station.