The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will replace 407 buses in the fleet, attached to five depots in the city limits, to switch over to electric buses as announced in the 2019-2020 budget.
Outgoing Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of KSRTC Tomin J. Thachankary said shifting 407 buses to the rural limits of the capital and replacing them with electric buses would help the State capital become the first environment-friendly transport city of the country.
The proposal mooted by Mr. Thachankary for the capital city in tune with the aim to introduce 1,000 electric buses in 2020 as part of the Electric Vehicle Mobility Policy was the last before he was shifted from the post of CMD of the state transport undertaking.
Mooted by Thachankary
“The fact that the proposal was accepted and could figure in the budget showed that the government had always welcomed my ideas,” Mr. Thachankary told The Hindu on Thursday.
At present, the104 buses in the City depot, 83 in Pappanamcode, 50 in Vellanad, 91 in Vikas Bhavan and 79 in Peroorkada cater to the needs of city commuters. In the present financial situation of the State transport undertaking, the KSRTC cannot purchase 407 electric buses as each one cost ₹1.5 crore to ₹2.5 crore.
The KSRTC CMD said the 10 electric buses wet leased by the State transport undertaking and used for the chain services in Pampa-Nilackal corridor were a big success. The KSRTC had to incur a cost of ₹50.05 for a km when the revenue from a km was ₹110. The profit per km was ₹57 for the State transport undertaking.
Wet leasing of buses
Mr. Thachankary in his proposal had mooted wet leasing of the electric buses for the city services also as the corporation would not have to make any investment. Besides providing the vehicle, the vehicle dealer will have to take care of the tax, maintenance, cleaning and provide the driver for operation of service.
The corporation will have to mobilise funds for setting up Public Information System (PIS) to inform the public about the timings and location of the e-buses through LED display boards at bus stations.
The CMD said the ₹20 crore needed for the PIS, including the Control Room, GPS, LED display and Travel Card Payment can be taken from the government. RFID digital payment system cashless transaction will help the capital to become the first cashless public transport system, the CMD said.
