300 new buses, 10 AC: KSRTC set to boost its fleet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will purchase new buses using Rs 100 crore allocated by the government as plan fund. The corporation estimates that it can purchase up to 300 buses with the amount. The plan is to buy 10 air-conditioned (AC) buses and the remaining buses as BS6-compliant Superfast buses. The tender process is expected to begin next month.

The previous government had purchased 340 buses in two phases. However, the premium Superfast buses among them had drawn complaints from passengers that they were not travel-friendly. Passengers had reportedly found it difficult to sit comfortably or stretch their legs. An official associated with the management said the new buses would not face such complaints.

A large number of KSRTC buses currently in service are old. The service life of 2,050 buses that had completed 17 years was recently extended to 20 years. The state extended the fitness period despite the Central Motor Vehicles Act requiring buses to be withdrawn after 15 years.

Due to the shortage of buses, KSRTC has been operating services using hired buses under the wet-lease system. Hired buses are being used mainly for long-distance AC services.

No decision on foreign loan

KSRTC management had approached the government seeking a Rs 1,400-crore foreign loan to purchase new buses, but the government has not taken a favourable decision. The management had proposed securing loans from international agencies, including German development bank KfW, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The proposal was to use Rs 1,000 crore to purchase 2,300 BS6 buses and Rs 400 crore to purchase 200 electric buses.