After rejecting Centre’s e-bus offer, Kerala extends operational age of 1,117 KSRTC buses by two years

Transport utility is looking for Plan fund share and special assistance from the State govt. to procure diesel-powered buses to replace its old fleet

After rejecting an offer of 950 electric buses from the Union government, the Kerala government has relaxed the 15-year age criteria fixed for buses of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), allowing the utility to operate such buses for two more years. The Union government norms mandate the scrapping of buses older than 15 years.

The Centre had offered the buses under the Pradhan Mantri E-Bus Seva initiative aimed at enhancing ‘green mobility,’ to be operated in 10 towns across the State.

The order extending the operational age of KSRTC buses, issued by the Transport department on Saturday, is expected to benefit 1,117 buses, mostly used for operating ordinary services.

₹43 crore

Transport Minister K.B. Ganeshkumar in a recent media statement said that availing itself of the e-bus offer under the Central scheme would cost the KSRTC around ₹43 crore. If the KSRTC received the amount, it could procure more fossil-fuel-powered buses. Also, there was no need for e-buses for towns such as Cherthala or Kayamkulam in Alappuzha where there were enough KSRTC and private bus services, he said.

Interestingly, when Antony Raju was the Transport Minister, the State had expressed interest in availing itself of the buses for Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi cities.

As part of the scheme, the Centre will provide drivers and charging station as well while the KSRTC needs to deploy conductors for ticket collection and meet the operational expenses. According to sources in the KSRTC, the transport utility will have made around ₹30-crore profits by operating the electric buses in 10 towns across the State, including Malabar.

Other States has availed themselves of around 4,000 buses under the scheme.

Now the transport utility is looking for Plan fund share and special assistance from the State government for procuring diesel-powered buses to replace its old fleet. The Corporation has started the tendering process for procuring 305 mini-size diesel buses for city services.

In the order, the Transport department cites the 22-year operational age fixed for private buses in the State.

Published - September 29, 2024 08:47 pm IST