The cash-strapped Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has set a record in ticket collection by generating ₹7.44 crore from its schedules operated within State and outside on Monday.
The ₹7,44,15,092 revenue from the ticket sales on January 8 is a record in the history of the State transport utility since it was established 53 years ago, according to its Chairman and Managing Director A. Hemachandran.
Hitherto, the highest collection from the ticket sales was ₹7.33 crore.
Of the ₹7.44 crore that reached the KSRTC through the 6,000-odd stage carriers in the fleet, ₹ 6,69,81,883 was from the stage carriers of the KSRTC and ₹74,33,209 from the low-floor AC and non-AC buses purchased under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and managed by the special purpose vehicle (SPV) Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation.
Among the five KSRTC zones, Kollam zone topped in revenue generation from ticket sales by collecting ₹1,92,12,134 (RTC ₹ 1,57, 97,932 and JNNURM ₹34,14,202). Thiruvananthapuram zone is in the second slot with ₹1,69,32,549 (RTC ₹ 1,58, 21, 450 and JNNURM ₹11,11,099). Ernakulam zone with ₹1,61,38,809 (RTC ₹1,45,21,121 and JNNURM 16,17,688) is in third place. Kozhikode zone is behind with ₹1,19,77,367 (RTC ₹1,13,37,749 and JNNURM ₹6,39,618) and Thrissur zone is last with revenue generation of ₹1,01,54,233 (RTC ₹95,03,631 and JNNURM ₹6,50,602).
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Hemachandran said the achievement was due to the operation of maximum schedules, rescheduling the services based on the requirements of commuters on local routes and intrastate corridors, the heavy demand for the customised group tours being operated to Pampa from various depots and the whole-hearted cooperation of the employees in the KSRTC.
“This season has been favourable to us and the employees are striving hard for increasing the revenue from the fleet. There is an orientation among them for increasing the revenue and there is potential to overcome the present crisis faced by the transport utility,” he added.
