KSRTC: Five-fold increase in non-ticket revenue, which can be increased further

The news that KSRTC has achieved a five-fold increase in non-ticket revenue in three years is a source of happiness not only for its employees but also for the public. The reform report submitted by Sushil Khanna, a management expert, had suggested that the corporation should not rely on ticket revenue alone. The recently deposed Biju Prabhakar implemented the said proposal in 2021 by forming a special commercial wing. It shows that it has had a good effect as it has been able to increase the non-ticket income to 300 crores in the last three years. The benefit was that the corporation started doing many profitable things, including advertisements, by avoiding private agencies. Advertisements on buses and depots generate good income. Before the advent of the commercial wing, the contractors used to take a good share of such income as commission.

The commercial wing can further increase its revenue by devising and implementing viable and acceptable new revenue streams. This will free the corporation from the burden of having to bow down to the government even to pay the employees correctly. A significant increase is now visible in the daily ticket revenue as well. Hundreds of damaged buses should be repaired and put into service and schedules reorganized according to the rush of passengers. Any reformation can be successful only if there is full cooperation of the employees. The reason why many reforms were not successful in the past was the lack of employee cooperation.

Non-ticket revenue can be further increased by utilizing the vacant space at various bus stations and depots to the maximum. The commercial complex at Thiruvananthapuram's Central Bus Station, which played a major role in driving the corporation into debt, is yet to be fully utilised. The rental income from here is not even enough to cover the interest on the loan taken for its construction. Kerala has the highest fares in the country. Yet the corporation could not stand on its own feet because of the ineffective reforms that were implemented from time to time.

With the change of minister in the transport department, new reforms and measures have started. Actions aimed at the prosperity of the corporation must be approved. At the same time, it should be remembered that reforms for the sake of reforms will not be good for the corporation.

Expert committees have long called for the decentralization of corporate governance and the strengthening of middle management. The Sushil Khanna report also had this recommendation. Based on that, among those recently appointed in the middle management, seven officials, including the HR manager, were dismissed the other day without even giving notice. It is a major drawback that KSRTC, the largest public sector organization in the state, does not even have an HR department. There is also a shortage of qualified people in the finance department. Any delay in implementing the expert recommendations to improve the governance of the corporation will be detrimental to the corporation as a whole.