The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) intends to charge more for its bus tickets on weekends, festival seasons and other days when demand is high. The top brass of the corporation has decided to ask the state government’s permission to introduce the “Flexi charge” plan along the lines of its Karnataka counterpart.
The “flexi charge” plan is scheduled to be rolled out on the inter-state buses in February and March. The corporation also intends to offer a 15 percent discount on tickets on leaner days. The discount may be trimmed to 10 percent from April.
The KSRTC also looks towards the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation to introduce buses fitted with sleeper berths and toilets. The Kerala Motor Vehicles Act and rules will have to be amended to facilitate the registration of this new class of buses.
A high-level meeting chaired by the managing director also decided to ask for government permission to start new bus services to Pondicherry from Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Thalassery, and Thiruvananthapuram and to Goa from Kochi and Kozhikode. More high-quality buses may be introduced to connect important towns within the state.
Meanwhile, the KSRTC has appointed a deputy general manager (finance and administration) on contract for three years, a stark departure from its conventional mode of hiring. This is the first time that the public sector transporter is appointing a top official on contract. Two more top officers will be appointed on contract, the corporation authorities said.
The new deputy general manager will draw a monthly salary of Rs 1 lakh. The contract-based appointment is a move towards improving the work culture of the corporation and tiding over a deepening financial crisis, the authorities said.
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