Mangalore's location in the Indian state of Karnataka makes it accessible by all forms of transport: road, rail, air and sea. It is the largest city in the Coastal Karnataka region, and is the only city in Karnataka and one among the six cities in India to have an International Airport, a Major Seaport, railway & road connectivities. It is the second prominent city of Karnataka after the state capital Bangalore in all aspects. It is one of the fastest developing cities in India.
Local public transport
Even though Mangalore's city bus service is dominated by private operators such as DKBOA, with routes covering the full extent of the city and beyond, in recent days Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation is plying buses in multiple routes. There are two distinct sets of routes for the buses, with the city routes being covered by city buses, and the intercity routes being covered by service and express buses. There are also KSRTC JnNurm green colour city buses from State Bank bus stand. These buses travel to different parts of the city and its suburbs. Service buses essentially touch some towns and villages on the intercity route. Service are run to various location like Udupi, Karkala and Kateel. However the frequency of service buses are extremely low. Express buses reach their destination with very limited stops in between. A list of bus routes inside Mangalore can be found here.
Another mode for local transportation is the autorickshaw. The minimum cost charged by an autorickshaw up to 2 km is Rs 25. Meters are introduced in all autorickshaws plying inside the city and the suburbs. But most of the rickshaw drivers does not charge according to meter. However charges are 1.5 times the displayed reading between 10 pm and 5 am. To avoid the high charges and best Cab Service in Mangalore you can go for Travels in Mangalore.Taxi services in Mangalore are provided by Ola Cabs and Uber, whose services extend to the Mangalore International Airport. Motorcycle rental providers have also begun offering transport services in the city.
Long distance bus routes
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) runs the long distance bus services from Mangalore to other parts of the state. The Mangalore-Bangalore route is the most lucrative route and is equally served by public & private players.
The longest bus route served is the Mangalore - Ankola- Hubli- Belgaum- Pune- Mumbai bus route run by a number of private players and KSRTC. The journey is about 22 hours by normal buses & 16 hours by Volvo Buses.
Many private companies based out of Mangalore, Udupi, Bangalore also ply multiple buses between Mangalore and other cities on daily basis. Ganesh Travels, SRS Travels, Ideal Travels, Sugama Tourists, Durgamba Motors, VRL, being the popular operators. These operators provide services in different categories such as A/C Volvo Bus, Sleeper, Seater etc. There will be a huge hike in number of passengers during the festive seasons such as Mangalore Dasara, Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Christmas which will also result in hike in bus fares unlike the KSRTC buses.
Roads and Highways
Five national highways connect Mangalore with various parts of Karnataka and India. NH-17 (now NH-66) connects Mangalore with Udupi, Bhatkal, Karwar, Mumbai, Goa, Kochi, Trivandrum and Kozhikode. NH-13 (now NH-169) connects Mangalore Shimoga. NH-48 (now NH-75) connects Mangalore with Vellore, Bangalore, Kunigal, Hassan and Sakleshpura. NH-73 connects Mangalore to Tumkur via Charmadi, Mudigere and Belur. NH-275 also connects Mangalore with Bangalore via Mysore. It starts at Bantwal near Mangalore city and passes through Madikeri, Mysore and Mandya. It ends at Bangalore spanning a total length of .
Railways
Mangalore has 3 railway stations - Mangalore Central, Mangalore Junction & Surathkal railway station.
A metre gauge railway track was built through the Western Ghats in the east, connecting Mangalore with Hassan. The broad gauge track connecting Mangalore to Bangalore via Hassan is open for freight traffic since May 2006. While the movement of passenger traffic was supposed to start after December 2006, the inaugural train was eventually flagged off from Mangalore Central railway station for Bangalore only on 8 December 2007 by Union Minister for Railways Laloo Prasad Yadav.