The inability of the crisis-ridden Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to enforce eight-hour duty for the operating crew is resulting in idling of over 500 buses in depots across the State and a loss of around ₹50 lakh in daily collection.
This is amidst the efforts of the management to revamp the double duty system as part of shoring up the revenue and effective utilisation of the operating crew. On July 25, the KSRTC could operate only 4,770 out of the 5,168 roadworthy buses from the 6,300-odd fleet. Another 586 buses were off the road on the day on account of repairs, maintenance, and other reasons.
The earning per bus (EPB) that operated on Tuesday was ₹11,063 and the total revenue from the fleet was ₹5.47 crore.
Earning per bus
Taking the EPB into account, the KSRTC suffered a loss of ₹43.57 lakh for the 398 buses that were forced to remain idle in the depots. Monthly, the loss caused by the 398 idle buses will come to ₹12 crore. If the 586 buses that were off the road were taken into account, the loss would double.
The KSRTC, which is facing a monthly revenue-deficit gap of ₹155 crore and finding it difficult to pay monthly salary and allowances, pension, and bills for oil and spare parts, is not able to run 1,000 buses in the fleet.
Confirming that the KSRTC is able to operate only 4,500 buses from the fleet, Chairman and Managing Director M.G. Rajamanickam told The Hindu that the inability to enforce the eight-hour duty shift for drivers and conductors was the main reason for so many buses remaining idle.
As per the norm of 1.67 crew for a KSRTC bus on a single duty pattern, the transport utility needs only 9,000 crew for operating 4,500 buses.
At present, there are 15,611 drivers, including empanelled ones, and 16,393 conductors.
Thus, the management is of the view that over 7,000 crew are in excess. Compared to the national average of 5.5 personnel per bus, the KSRTC has an average of 8.5 staff per bus.
Recommended
The Sushil Khanna Commission appointed by the government for revival of the KSRTC, in its initial report, recommended that the 8.7 employee per bus should be brought down to 5.5 and that the double duty pattern of the employees be revised.
