Buoyed by the passenger response, the newly constituted K-SWIFT under the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will roll out 116 more buses for operating long-haul services.
An announcement in this regard was made by Transport Minister Antony Raju while inaugurating works on renovating the KSRTC bus terminal at Changanassery on Tuesday evening.
Addressing the event, the Minister also spoke of the plans to renovate all major KSRTC depots including Pala, Kottayam and Changanassery, which had been in a state of disrepair for long.
“The introduction of K-SWIFT buses have led to regularisation of ticket fairs for long distance travel services, prompting the private operators to follow suit and reduce the rates. That 30 permits could be obtained and operated will also strengthen the KSRTC in terms of revenue and services,” the Minister noted.
Out of the 976 buses lying in disuse across the yards, as many as 200 buses have been sold off through a three-level procedure while another batch of 250 buses are due to be sold off. Another batch of 300 such buses will be used for the Shops on Wheels scheme, he adds.
Cooperation Minister V.N. Vasavan, who presided over the event, says the K-SWIFT buses posses state-of-the-art facilities that even the private buses could not boast about. “Projects like the long-distance services at a low-cost, services to the village routes, and special services to tourist destinations, are the way forward for the KSRTC,” he says.
Changanassery MLA Job Michael, KSRTC managing director Biju Prabhakar, and others were present.
The terminal renovation worth ₹5.15 crore will be completed in three phases over a period of 18 months. After erecting temporary bus shelters for the passengers, the old building at the bus station will be demolished. This will be followed by the construction of a new building with improved passenger amenities including a multilevel parking system.
