Kerala State Road Transport Corporation
 | |
| Public Sector Corporation under the Ministry of Transport of the State Government of Kerala | |
| Industry | Public transport bus service |
| Founded | 20 February 1938,1965 |
| Headquarters | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India |
Area served | Kerala |
| Products | Bus transport, Cargo Transport, Services |
| Services |
Volvo AC Airbus, Globus AC Airbus, Super Deluxe Airbus, Super Express Airbus, Super Express, Super Fast, Fast Passenger, Venad/Malabar Limited Stop, Ananthapuri/Thiru Kochi, Ordinary Bus. |
| Subsidiaries | Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC)[1] |
| Website | www.keralartc.com |
The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is the state-run bus company in Kerala, India. It is one of the oldest state run public bus transport services in India. The 314 low-floor buses procured with the financial assistance from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and operated by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) are to be brought under the newly formed Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC).[2]
With 400 low-floor buses to be procured for extending services to 12 more districts in the State under JNNURM scheme 2013-14, the number of sleek modern buses in the State under KURTC is to go up to 767.
History
The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation began as the Travancore State Transport Department, constituted by the Travancore King, H.H. Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, with the intent of reorganizing the transportation services of the former state. Mr. EG Salter, Assistant Operating Superintendent of London Passenger Transport Board, was appointed as Superintendent of the Transport Department on 20 September 1937. The Travancore Transport Department grew with nationalisation of key interstate routes such as Thiruvanathapuram to Kanyakumari and Palakkad to Coimbatore.
The first fleet consisted of 60 Comet chassis fitted with Perkins diesel engines, imported from England. The bodies of the buses were built by the staff of the Travancore State Transport Department under the supervision of the Superintendent. The model for the selection of operating staff continues to be followed by the current operating staff. The Transport Department gave preference in recruitment for those who were likely to lose their the private transport company jobs resulting from the nationalization of Thiruvanathapuram Kanyakumari route. Thus the Transport Department began with a staff of about a hundred graduates appointed as Inspectors and Conductors.
The State Motor Service was inaugurated by His Highness Sree Chithirathirunal on 20 February 1938. His Highness and his kin were the first passengers of the system on the inaugural trip; Superintendent Salter was the driver of the bus. This bus, along with the thirty-three other buses brought on road driving through the Kowdiar Square was an attraction at that time.
Following the enactment of the Road Transport Corporation Act in 1950, the Government of Kerala formulated KSRTC rules in 1965 by Section 44. The Transport Department was converted into an autonomous corporation on 1 April 1965 and the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation was formally established by the government of Kerala by the notification dated, 15 March 1965.
For all KSRTC Buses the registered under a separate RTO at Thiruvanathapuram having registration series KL-15.
In November 2014, Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC), with headquarters in Thevara, was formed to operate low-floor buses which are procured with the financial assistance from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).[1]
Fleet
The corporation has a fleet of 6148 buses and 5598 schedules consisting Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors and Volvo buses and minibuses.[3] The fleet composition as of 6 December 2010 was:
| Service Type | Model | Numbers | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| City Ordinary | Tata 1510 & Tata 1512c | 42 | Ordinary Buses in Thiruvananthapuram for city transportation. |
| City Double Decker | Ashok Leyland Titan | 2 | Double Decker buses in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram (East Fort to Sangumugham Beach) charging ordinary fares. |
| Thiru Kochi / Ananthapuri Fast | Tata 1510 & Tata 1512c | 205 | City buses in Kochi / Thiruvananthapuram with 2x2 seating layout. |
| Low Floor Non-AC City Bus | Ashok Leyland Panther RE Semi Low Floor | 240 | Low Floor City Buses under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission scheme in the city of Cochin (Kochi) and Thiruvananthapuram with 2x2 seating layout. |
| Low Floor AC City Bus | Volvo 8400 | 80 | Low Floor AC City Buses under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission scheme in Kochi / Thiruvananthapuram with 2x2 seating layout. |
| Minibus | Tata 709E, Ashok Leyland Stag | 21 | Mini Buses are used on small feeder routes charging ordinary fares. |
| Rajadhani ring road service[4] | Ashok Leyland Viking, Tata 1512 & Tata 1512c | 10 | New ring road bus service in Thiruvananthapuram city |
| Short Wheel Base Ordinary Buses | Tata 1512, Ashok Leyland Cheetah | 200 | Midi Buses with shorter wheelbase (176 in wheelbase) are used on routes in hilly areas, ghats and small narrower roads charging ordinary fares. |
| Ordinary | Ashok Leyland Viking, Tata 1512 & Tata 1512c | 3,958 | Short routes served by older buses that used to run on higher grade services. |
| Venad / Malabar | Ashok Leyland Viking, Tata Globus, Tata 1512 & Tata 1512c | 1,465 | Comfortable buses used as Limited Stop Ordinary [LS ORD] / Fare Stage Limited Stop [FSLS] / Town to Town [TT] with 3x2 seating layout and Ordinary Fare Stage. |
| Fast Passenger | Ashok Leyland Viking, Tata 1512c | 1152 | Short and long distance no frill services with 3x2 seating layout. |
| Super Fast | Ashok Leyland Viking, Tata 1512c | 334 | Fast, long distance services with 3x2 seating layout. |
| Super Express Airbus | Ashok Leyland 12M & Tata 1612c | 50 | Newly introduced long distance services on 12 m chassis, often interstate with 3x2 seating layout with more leg room and rear air suspension. Some buses have 2x2 reclining seating layout. Same fare as a Super Express. |
| Super Deluxe Airbus | Ashok Leyland Viking & Tata LPO1512c Ex | 50 | Luxury interstate and intrastate services, often long distance with 2x2 reclining seats and rear air suspension. |
| Garuda Volvo (AC) | Volvo 9400 | 3 | Luxury Interstate Services Buses to Bangalore using Volvo B7R with 2x2 reclining seats and full air suspension. |
| Garuda Multi Axle (AC) | Volvo 9400 | 10 | Luxury Interstate multiaxle bus
services using Volvo B9R with 2x2 semisleeper seats and full air suspension. |
| Total | 6,182 | Total number of Schedules : 5,598 |
Depots and workshops
KSRTC has twenty nine depots, forty six sub-depots, eighteen operating centres, and five workshops spread throughout the Kerala.[5] In 1995 Kerala State Road Transport Corporation ventured into the technical education field by establishing an engineering college named Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering at Pappanamcode on its Central Workshop premises.
Workshops
The List of KSRTC Workshops are given below:
| S.No | Name | Status | Telephone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pappanamcode | Central Workshop | 0471 2490801 |
| 2 | Mavelikkara | Regional Workshop | 0479 2302409 |
| 3 | Aluva | Regional Workshop | 0484 2624007 |
| 4 | Edappal | Regional Workshop | 0494 2699248 |
| 5 | Kozhikode | Regional Workshop | 0495 2361667 |
Facts
- The daily scheduled distance for bus services has increased from 12,00,000 km to 14,22,546 km.[6]
- Nearly 5,373 buses run on 4,795 schedules everyday.[7]
- Average number of passengers transported in a day is 3145,000 (3.145 million)
- The average earnings per km (EPKM) works out to around
25.69 and the average earnings per bus (EPB) works out to 8,329..
Fares
Historical Fares
Half a Chakram was the minimum fare in 1938. The first class tickets had cost 50% more than the coordinating rate. During that period free travel was allowed for children up to 3 years and only half the fare was charged for children until age 14. There were no luggage tickets, but when the luggage weighed more than 28 pounds up to 56 pounds, a fee was assessed for 4 chakras. Passengers with luggage that weighed more than 56 pounds were assessed a fee of 6 chakras up to 112 pounds and above. As the Chakram had triple the value of a 100 rupee currency note today, the cost of travelling was comparatively higher during those days.
Current Fares
The fares were last revised on 11 November 2012 .
- 64 paise for City/Ordinary Services,
- 68 paise for City Fast Services,
- 68 paise for Fast Passenger/Limited Stop FP Services,
- 72 paise for Super Fast Services,
- 77 paise for Super Express Services,
- 90 paise for Super Deluxe/Semi Sleeper Services,
- 110 paise for Luxury/High-Tech/Air Conditioned Services, and
- 130 paise for Volvo Services.[8]
| Bus Type | Minimum Fare in Indian Rupees |
|---|---|
| CITY/ ORDINARY | 7.00 |
| CITY FAST | 7.00 |
| FAST PASSENGER/LSFP | 10.00 |
| SUPER FAST PASSENGER | 13.00 |
| SUPER EXPRESS | 20.00 |
| SUPER DELUXE/SEMI SLEEPER | 28.00 |
| LUXURY/HI-TECH/AC | 40.00 |
| VOLVO [GARUDA] | 40.00 |
| VOLVO MULTI AXLE | 70.00 |
| LOW FLOOR A/C CITY SERVICE | 15.00 |
| LOW FLOOR Non A/C | 8.00 |
| [8] |
Online booking
Bus reservation can be done online for KSRTC services and the NEW online booking facility is available at http://www.keralartc.in/KERALAOnline/
GPRS Enabled Ticket Machines
Kerala State Road Transport Corporation(KSRTC) has introduced GPRS enabled ticketing machines which is connected to an online server through GPRS to streamline services in the year 2013.The ticket machines transfers real time data to the control room at Transport Bhavan.The authorities can keep tabs on the collection of each schedule and that of depots across the sttate on real time basis by tracking the data from ticketing machines
Gallery
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KSRTC Volvo 8400 Low-floor bus in Thiruvananthapuram city
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KSRTC Volvo 8400 Low-floor bus in Thiruvananthapuram city
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KSRTC Venad and Fast Passenger Bus on Wayanad Ghat Section
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KSRTC Inter-State Super Express bus operating daily from Kottarakkara to Kollur
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It's side view
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "All JNNURM buses to be brought under KURTC". The Hindu. October 26, 2014. Retrieved 20 Jan 2015.
- ↑ The 314 low-floor buses procured with the financial assistance from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and operated by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) are to be brought under the newly formed Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC). With 400 low-floor buses to be procured for extending services to 12 more districts in the State under JNNURM scheme 2013-14, the number of sleek modern buses in the State under KURTC is to go up to 767.
- ↑ KSRTC Directory
- ↑ http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-11/thiruvananthapuram/31324721_1_cm-flags-bus-service-ksrtc
- ↑ http://www.keralartc.com/html/depots.html
- ↑ All about KSRTC
- ↑ At present the corporation has 5373 buses running on 4795 schedules. http://www.keralartc.com/html/aboutus.html
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 FARES, KSRTC fares revised.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kerala State Road Transport Corporation. |
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