A bus museum soon in city

BANGALORE: If all goes according to plan, Karnataka might soon have its very own bus museum in Bangalore. Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is mulling over the concept of a bus museum, where it wants to display records and pictures of various buses used by it over the years. The chief attraction of the museum would be ‘Banshankari’ — the state’s oldest bus.‘Banshankari’ came to Karnataka via the Mumbai Transport Corporation and started plying in Bijapur in 1947. Built by the Bront Ford Coach Company of Canada in 1947, the bus was handed over to the state by the Bombay State Road Transport Corporation after Karnataka was declared as a state. It was used frequently to ferry staff to Banshankari and Savadatti fairs in Northern Karnataka in the 60’s and hence the name stuck. Make of 'Banashankari'‘Banshankari’ is a trailer of Bedford make with an American-built Perkins engine. It is painted bright red in line with the London buses of the time and features a very prominent ‘Trishul’ on the bonnet to give it a distinctive Indian look. The bus was refurbished in 1968 before being put back into operation. This bus will lead the display in the museum.“We have plans to provide pictorial records of KSRTC’s evolution over the years. We shall look at providing recorded tours, a brief movie on KSRTC and give the public a look at how the ticketing systems have evolved over the years,” said a senior official. KSRTC, over the years, has collected information on buses like double deckers and road trains, which were two coaches hooked to the engine, and other body types. All this information would be available at the museum.“I want to see this bus refurbished. It’s a legacy in itself. It has come a long way from its makers in Canada,” said an official at the workshop where the bus is currently kept. KSRTC Managing Director Gaurav Gupta added, “The intention to build a museum is definetly there but we need to hammer out the details before proceeding further.”