In September last year, Rosy Ignatius, 63, a fisherwoman who goes door to door with her basket to sell fish, stood up in a crowd at a public meeting and blessed the previous Transport Minister Antony Raju for introducing electric buses in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala’s capital city. She had been spending around ₹70 on transportation earlier and had to change three buses to get to her home at Veli after selling fish stocks in the city. The circular route introduced in the city connecting unserved remote locations within the city limits was a blessing for her. Now, she says, she spends only ₹30. “Saving ₹1,200 per month is almost equal to getting a welfare pension from the State government,” she says.
In August 2022, the corporation, under the e-mobility component of the Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Limited (SCTL), introduced electric buses in the city, replacing about 50% of the diesel-run buses in phases in the city limits as part of a Central and State governments-funded project. The city is the first in the State to get an e-bus service. According to the SCTL, about half the e-buses served people in unserved or underserved locations within Thiruvananthapuram, where people were largely relying on autorickshaws, two-wheelers, and cabs for transportation.
In mid-January this year, current Transport Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar announced that electric buses would be replaced with fossil fuel-powered ones. The reason he cited was that people used them more than diesel buses on routes both were running, causing a financial loss to the utility since the fares on e-buses were lower. He added that e-buses required a huge investment. However, he had to retract his words after the political leadership snubbed him saying the e-buses were introduced as part of the green city initiative of the State government with the support of the Centre.
Though the issue was temporarily addressed with the intervention of political leadership, the issue continues to cost the corporation dear, with Biju Prabhakar, who was instrumental in implementing the project in Thiruvananthapuram, stepping down from the posts of chairperson and managing director of Kerala State Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Transport Secretary following differences of opinion with Kumar.
Opposing views
The KSRTC is in a financial crisis. Its accumulated debt over the years is pegged at ₹4,237 crore, including pending arrears to employees, pensioners, and bank loans taken. Kumar is advocating austerity measures across the Statewide fleet of 4,300 buses, and replacing e-buses is one among them. The cost of three diesel buses, around ₹1 crore, is about the same as one e-bus. The Minister also highlighted the huge investment required for changing the battery pack of the electric buses after a certain period, the expenses of which are likely to come to half the cost of the vehicle.
However, Raju feels that holding the electric bus responsible for the poor performance of the corporation is like turning a Nelson’s eye to the real issues plaguing the public utility. There are multiple reasons for the crisis plaguing the KSRTC. The relatively high employee-bus ratio of the corporation is one of the foremost reasons for the growing difference between its operational expense and revenue. It has around 4,300 buses, while it maintains around 24,000 employees. This employee-bus ratio is higher than the national average of 5.5 staff per bus. The corporation can even avoid a situation of being dependent on the State government every month to meet the salary expense of the workforce if at least around 1,200 buses idling in various depots are made operational, according to Prabhakar.
Though The Hindu tried to contact Kumar to get his view on the poor performance of the corporation and his plans to effect its makeover, he was not available for comments. His office said that the Minister had stopped briefing the media soon after the controversy over the electric bus. The Minister was snubbed by the political leadership for making comments contrary to the policy of the Left Democratic Front government. The e-bus was introduced in the State as part of the green city initiative of the Left government in Kerala, which even found a place in the election manifesto of the ruling dispensation.
Clear stance of public
According to an estimation by the SCTL, more than 2,000 two-wheelers are off the road daily during peak hours with the introduction of e-buses. This is evident from the rising number of passenger footfall on e-buses. According to official data, the total number of passengers who used electric buses during September 2023 was 5.28 lakh, which rose to 8.2 lakh in December, underscoring the acceptance of e-buses in the city.
“Denying effective and cheaper public transportation cannot be justified under any circumstances,” feels Bindu R., a regular commuter on the e-bus. Unlike fossil fuel-powered buses, which do not provide a smooth ride, electric buses offer a comfortable ride for passengers on pothole-riddled roads. The new e-buses also offer passengers on-board entertainment with Malayalam, Tamil, English, and Hindi film music.
“The improved interior design and overall comfort, along with an affordable ticket fare of ₹10 for a ride of up to 20 kilometres has brought people like me back to public transportation. I leave my car and two-wheeler back home now,” says Shaji Rajeev, from Sasthamangalam, a locality with some newly developed residential areas. The fare in a diesel bus is ₹15 for a 3-km ride.
Employee outrage
M. Shivakumar, who retired as an assistant transport officer in 2012, says his pension is due for the third consecutive month. “We spent our entire working life with the corporation, and now during our twilight years, we are forced to live at the mercy of others,” he says.
The KSRTC workforce or the public has no role to play in the poor financial performance of the corporation, feels S. Vinod, vice-president, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU)-affiliated Kerala State Road Transport Employees Association (KSRTEA). Administrative mismanagement over the years has led to the poor performance of the corporation. “The KSRTC management is not honouring its commitment to either its employees or the public, by delaying salaries and withdrawing e-buses,” he says.
Not just pensioners, even employees are feeling the pinch. “We leave home for duty at the crack of dawn and return only by 9 p.m. Despite toiling hard, we get our salary in two instalments,” says Sandhya Mol, a conductor attached to the Attingal depot. This has been the case for over a year now.
“We have been finding it difficult to meet both ends,” said Nireesh S.R., assistant depot engineer, mechanical division. A majority of the employees have taken bank loans and many complain that they default on EMIs for homes loans, personal loans, and LIC payments because of the salary delay.
Cutting costs and losses
The total revenue earned by the corporation in December 2023 was ₹274 crore, including non-fare revenue, while the total expense was ₹282.50 crore including the salary of employees and fuel, registering a shortfall of ₹7.92 crore. In November, the total revenue was ₹216.01 crore, and expenses for the month were ₹273 crore. The State has been providing financial assistance to the tune of ₹50 crore every month for salaries.
The KSRTC has around 400 acres of land at prime locations within and outside of Kerala. The average monthly non-fare revenue of the corporation from the immovable assets is still less than 5%. Even as airport operators and Railways have been looking for ways to increase the non-fare revenue or non-aeronautical revenue by up to 50% of their total revenue, the KSRTC is still banking on ticket fares and government assistance to meet its operational expenses.
This is a short-sighted vision, says Pradeep S.J., secretary of AITUC-affiliated Kerala State Road Transport Union. “The electric bus row in the KSRTC is another instance that shows the mismanagement of the corporation, which still is not sure about whom to stand for — the employees or the public,” says Praveen T., a regular passenger on KSRTC buses.
