Faced with mounting losses, Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC) would reschedule services, organise orientation classes for drivers and beef up vigilance squads to bolster revenue from its fleet of low-floor buses that operate in the district.
The move comes in the wake of widespread complaints of unscientific scheduling of trips and KSRTC’s (KURTC’s parent organisation) attempt to increase daily revenue to Rs 7 crore. Complaints about drivers skipping stops, plying buses as a convoy and in some cases, stopping away from bus stops are rampant. These in turn are leading to low passenger patronage, said a senior KURTC official.
“Cancellation of trips due to unprecedented congestion near Kochi Metro work sites has made matters worse, throwing bus operations into a mess. Subsequently, fuel efficiency of AC and non-AC low-floor buses, too, has taken a toss, with AC buses returning as little as 2.4 km per litre of diesel and non-AC ones 3.5 km per litre.”
A combination of these factors has affected prospects of the fleet of low-floor buses procured under JNNURM scheme. “The earnings per km of AC buses is Rs 50, while it hovers around Rs. 30 for non-AC buses. This must go up to Rs. 60 for AC and Rs. 40 for non AC buses, to make their operations feasible,” he said.
Income from Ernakulam-based AC low-floor buses took a toss after High Court of Kerala restrained their operations to other districts. Buses from other districts are doing inter-district service and are registering profit due to sound passenger patronage. For example, the Thiruvananthapuram-High Court bus earns Rs. 65 per km, while buses plying within Ernakulam district earn less than Rs 50 per km, official sources said.
Display boards
Aimed at increasing income, KURTC intends to ‘communicate’ better with people by making changes in display of destination in LED boards of buses. “The destination will be displayed permanently in front and rear in LED boards, to attract more long-distance commuters,” a senior official said.
