Kochi: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), in a report submitted to the transport minister, claimed to have operated additional services to meet the holiday rush during the Christmas – New Year season. On paper, yes, it is true. However, the reality seems to be far removed from the claim.
The transport minister, who announced that more KSRTC buses would ply during the Christmas and New Year season, was bluffed by KSRTC officials who submitted a report with manipulated numbers.
However, while attempting to pull off a slick number, the personnel forgot to account for the total distance covered and the dip in revenue despite deploying extra buses.
As per the data, 4,017 buses operated for about 13.57 lakh km, carrying a total of 20.71 lakh passengers on December 5. On December 12, when 4,058 buses were operated, the distance dipped to 13.51 km and the number of passengers increased to 21.13 lakh.
On December 20, only 4,016 buses were operated, covering a distance of 13.51 lakh km, carrying 20.31 lakh passengers.
Despite operating 324 more buses than the previous day, on December 21, the total number of kilometres run dipped by 2,000 km. While 4,319 buses were operated covering 13.65 lakh km on December 23, 4,292 buses were run covering 14.06 lakh km on December 24.
Though it was announced that more buses would be operated, the numbers indicate that the passengers did not wait for those ‘additional’ services. On December 5, 20.71 lakh passengers relied on KSRTC for their travel, on December 12 it was 21.13 lakh, and on December 19 it further lowered to 20.79 lakh.
On December 22, when the holiday rush was at its peak, KSRTC didn't even meet their usual number of passenger numbers, according to the data. It was only 20.36 lakh.
On Christmas eve, the number of passengers who travelled by KSRTC further dipped to 19.80 lakh, less than the usual average.
The Swift buses too, which were started in an effort to salvage KSRTC from the current crisis, are on a downturn.
While the average revenue from the 4,000 KSRTC buses, including ordinary services, is Rs 55 per km, the Swift buses added to the fleet generate only Rs 50 per km.
