Silver and Bronze tourist bus services will be launched next year.
The state tourism department will soon unveil Silver and Bronze Chariots, on the lines of the famed Golden Chariot.
While the Silver Chariot will begin operation from January, the Bronze Chariot service will be operated from March-April.
It is another matter though that the silver and bronze chariots would literally roll out and not chug on as they would not be trains but Volvo buses owned by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC).
Speaking to DNA, KSTDC managing director Vinay Lutra said that the Silver Chariot will be a seven-day trip on AC Volvo buses. Tourists will have to pay around Rs25,000 as fare which will take care of travel, accommodation, sight-seeing and food. The tourists will be put up at KSTDC and Jungle Lodges and Resorts facilities or even private three-star hotels.
The Silver Chariot route will cover Mysore, Coorg, Hassan, Belur, Halebid, Bhadra, Hampi and Badami.
The Bronze Chariot will be an air-conditioned carriage but a non-Volvo bus. The rates and destination chart for the Bronze Chariot is yet to be prepared. It will however cover the destinations of Silver Chariot, at a lesser fare. Both the Chariots would hit the road only during the days.
The Silver and Bronze Chariots have been conceived by the department after considering the needs of different classes of clients. While the Golden Chariot focuses on global tourists and rich nationals, the Silver and Bronze Chariots would cater to other segments: middle class families and economy travellers.
A ride on Golden Chariot costs US $485 per person per day.
As not everyone can travel by the Golden Chariot and there is an increased tendency to travel, the department worked out the plan to introduce the two new services and finalised it three months ago.
The KSTDC would run both the services on its own and involve no partners.
Officials learn it the hard way
A lot of sweat and toil has gone into the chalking out of the state’s new tourism policy 2009-14. The policy took shape during reality-check rides of bureaucrats aboard the Golden Chariot, Karnataka’s very own luxury express on tracks.
According to highly placed sources in the tourism department, the entire policy was prepared onboard the Golden Chariot in which the officials travelled three months ago.
The officials stayed like tourists at various destinations. And the effort clearly shows in the policy’s focus area: improving basic amenities like toilets, drinking water, accommodation at reasonable prices, transport, cleanliness, hygiene and connectivity.
They also learnt the harsh truth that many of the preferred destinations like Badami and Hampi had poor facilities, contrary to the lofty claims of the department.
It was for the first time in 15 years that officials were formulating this policy not from the cosy confines of their offices, but from the rough-and-tumble of the field.
Tourism minister Gali Janardhana Reddy though was not part of these rides.
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