Daily ridership of women passengers on KSRTC Ordinary buses increase from 6.48 lakh to 12.12 lakh, says Kerala Minister

After the roll-out of the Priyadarshini free travel scheme for women and transgender people on the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses, the average daily ridership of women passengers on Ordinary buses increased from 6.48 lakh to 12.12 lakh, an increase of 87.0%. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Transport Minister C.P. John said that women’s participation in KSRTC’s Ordinary services now accounts for about two-thirds of the capacity of its Ordinary buses.

According to the latest review, the share of women passengers on KSRTC Ordinary buses increased from 50.9% to 66.6% after the roll-out of the scheme. The average daily number of passengers on KSRTC buses, including Ordinary and super-class services, increased from 19.03 lakh to 24.53 lakh, an increase of 28.9%.

“This is not merely a shift in the existing number of passengers but the creation of new travel demand (induced demand) for public transport,” the Minister said. Despite the roll-out of the scheme on Ordinary buses, the number of male passengers using these services has remained almost constant. This indicates that the increase in women passengers has not come at the expense of other passengers, the Minister said. Furthermore, the additional passengers have been accommodated within the existing network. This has significantly reduced the fuel required per passenger and lowered carbon emissions, he added.

Temporary staff

Meanwhile, the Transport Minister dismissed reports claiming that the KSRTC had terminated 200 temporary employees. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] alleged that the KSRTC had dismissed 200 temporary employees recruited through the Employment Exchange in Kasaragod, Kozhikode, and Thrissur districts.

The party also claimed that around 6,000 temporary employees had not been paid their salaries for the past one and a half months. According to the CPI(M), the KSRTC requires around ₹12 crore every month to pay the salaries of temporary employees. However, only about ₹3 crore has been sanctioned so far. The party further alleged that the dismissals had severely disrupted daily bus operations, including inter-district services.

However, the Minister clarified that no temporary staff had been dismissed since the present government came to power. He, however, acknowledged that there had been a delay in disbursing the salaries of some employees and assured that the issue would be resolved soon. The Minister also said that the State government has approved the formation of a Transport Management Committee in each depot to ensure the comprehensive development of KSRTC depots.