Transport Minister Antony Raju has said an emergency meeting of officials of the department and the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will be held on Wednesday.
He said the meeting would discuss the need to impose restrictions in public transport vehicles in view of the steep increase in COVID-19 cases. Various proposals regarding steps to minimise crowding and contact in buses would come up for discussion. Curbs could also be imposed on the number of passengers permitted to travel in a bus.
Amidst reports of several KSRTC employees contracting COVID-19, Mr. Raju insisted there was no cause for concern. The KSRTC remained among the least affected among government departments. Under the circumstances, there was no pressing need to cut down the number of trips, he said.
He also blamed a section of employees for propagating falsehoods in a bid to drive commuters away from KSRTC buses. Stringent action would be taken against such efforts.
Dismissing reports that the utility plied only 700 buses, KSRTC Chairman and Managing Director Biju Prabhakar said 3,431 buses operated services on Tuesday. These included 1,388 buses in Thiruvananthapuram alone.
The senior official requested the Health department to conduct a special vaccine drive to administer a booster dose for conductors.
