Industry Public Transport Founded 1938 | CEO Antony Chacko (May 2014–) | |
 | ||
Headquarters Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India Areas served Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Mahe Products Bus transport, Cargo Transport, Transit Services Services Scania Garuda Maharaja
Volvo Garuda AC Multi axle Airbus
Super Deluxe Airbus
Sabari Airbus
Volvo Low Floor
Non AC low floor bus
Super Express
Super Fast
Fast Passenger
Rajadhani/TT
Silver Line Jet
Venad/Malabar Limited Stop
Ananthapuri City/Thiru Kochi City
Double Decker
Vestibule bus
Pink bus
Short wheel base / Ordinary Bus Subsidiaries Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC) Type of business Public Sector Corporation under the Ministry of Transport, Government of Kerala | ||
Ksrtc rt 390 kollam kerala banana loaded truck kerala state road transport corporation
The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is the state-run bus company in Kerala, India. It is one of the oldest state run public bus transport services in India and is headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram.
Contents
History
The earliest predecessor of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation was the Travancore State Transport Department, constituted by the King Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, with the intent of reorganizing the transportation services of the former state. E.G. Salter, Assistant Operating Superintendent of London Passenger Transport Board, was appointed as Superintendent of the Transport Department on 20 September 1937. The Transport Department grew with nationalisation of key interstate routes such as Thiruvananthapuram–Kanyakumari route and the Palakkad–Coimbatore route.
The first fleet consisted of 60 Comet chassis fitted with Perkins diesel engines, imported from England. The bodies of the buses were built by the staff of the Travancore State Transport Department under the supervision of the Superintendent. The model for the selection of operating staff continues to be followed by the current operating staff. The Transport Department gave preference in recruitment for those who were likely to lose their private transport company jobs resulting from the nationalization of Thiruvananthapuram–Kanyakumari route. Thus the Transport Department began with a staff of about a hundred graduates appointed as Inspectors and Conductors.
The State Motor Service was inaugurated by The King Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma on 20 February 1938. He and his kin were the first passengers of the system on the inaugural trip; Superintendent Salter was the driver of the bus. This bus, along with the thirty-three other buses brought on road driving through the Kowdiar Square was an attraction at that time.
Following the enactment of the Road Transport Corporation Act in 1950, the Government of Kerala formulated KSRTC rules in 1965 by Section 44. The Transport Department was converted into an autonomous corporation on 1 April 1965 and the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation was formally established by the government of Kerala by the notification dated 15 March 1965. KSRTC buses are the registered under a dedicated RTO at Thiruvananthapuram with the registration series KL-15.
Fleet
The corporation has a fleet of 6148 buses and 5598 schedules consisting Volvo buses, Scania buses, Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Eicher Motors, and minibuses. The fleet composition as of 6 December 2010 was:
Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation
In November 2014, Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC), with headquarters in Kochi, was formed to operate low-floor buses which are procured with the financial assistance from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
The 314 low-floor buses already procured are to be brought under this newly formed subsidiary (KURTC). With 400 low-floor buses to be procured for extending services to 12 more districts in the State under JNNURM scheme 2013-14, the number of these sleek modern buses is to go up to 767.
Zones
Kerala State Road Transport Corporation have a total of 5 zones in the state, each zone is managed by a zonal officer.
Depots and workshops
KSRTC has 28 depots, 45 sub depots, 19 operating centres, 28 station master offices, 5 workshops and 3 staff training colleges spread throughout the Kerala. In 1995 Kerala State Road Transport Corporation ventured into the technical education field by establishing an engineering college named Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering at Pappanamcode on its Central Workshop premises.
KSRTC is also having 28 Station Master (SM) Offices at Ambalapuzha, Ayoor, Eenchakkal, Ernakulam Jetty, Ettumanoor, Iritty, Kadakkal, Kaliyakkavila, Kuthiyathode, Malayilkeezh, Manjery, Mundakkayam, Nagarcoil, Ochira, Pattambi, Pothencode, Puthenkurishu, Tirur, Valanchery, Varkala, Vytila Hub and also have 3 staff training colleges in Trivandrum, Ernakulam and Edappal .
Historical Fares
"Half a Chakram was the minimum fare in 1938. The first class tickets had cost 50% more than the coordinating rate. During that period free travel was allowed for children up to 3 years and only half the fare was charged for children until age 14. There were no luggage tickets, but when the luggage weighed more than 28 pounds up to 56 pounds, a fee was assessed for 4 chakras. Passengers with luggage that weighed more than 56 pounds were assessed a fee of 6 chakras up to 112 pounds and above. As the Chakram had triple the value of a 100 rupee currency note today, the cost of travelling was comparatively higher during those days".
Current Fares
The fares were last revised on 11 November 2012 .
Note: w.e.f 1 March 2016, the minimum charge for Ordinary bus has been bought down to 6.00 INR, in order to benefit the common man, owing to the decrease in oil prices. Ordinary bus charges for all fare stages has been bought down by 1.00 INR.