Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has auctioned off 2,202 buses as scrap between 2016 and February 20, 2025, while acquiring only 538 new buses during the same period.

With no significant additions to its fleet, many village routes across the state are now facing a shortage of bus services. This lack of buses has also impacted long-distance and interstate operations. While Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have deployed new buses for long-haul routes, Kerala continues to rely on aging vehicles.

Of the 538 new buses procured in the past nine years, the majority have been allocated to the KSRTC SWIFT service, with the corporation itself receiving only 100 buses.

The orange-colored Garuda buses, introduced some time ago, are now in poor condition. The 11-year-old fleet of Scania buses also remains in operation, with frequent breakdowns causing significant inconvenience to passengers. When a bus breaks down mid-route, travellers are forced to board other buses running on the same stretch. Complaints are also mounting regarding the latest batch of AC buses rolled out under the KSRTC SWIFT service.

Previously, super-class buses were downgraded to ordinary services after five years. However, with the lifespan of super-class buses now extended to 12 years, the availability of ordinary buses through this process has also significantly declined.