Commuters using the limited stop ordinary services (LSOS) for traveling long distance within the State will now have to pay more for commuting with the Cabinet deciding to restrict LSOS to 140 km and providing halts in all designated stops between two fare stages.
The proposed amendment of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, decided by the Cabinet on February 15, will force hundreds of commuters to depend on Super Class services of the state-owned Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) for commuting above 140 km.
As the fares of the super class services vary from 72 paise to 90 paise per km compared to the 64 paise per km of ordinary services, the commuters will also have to shelve out more for traveling once the amendment of the rules is notified by the Transport Department.
Bus operators’ concern
The decision, which is based on the 2013 take-over of the 241 super class services operated by the private stage carriers, will turn the existing LSOS, including that of the KSRTC, into ordinary services. “As per our estimates, it will affect over 700 buses of the private stage carriers,” general secretary of the Kerala State Private Bus Operators Federation, Lawerence Babu said.
Besides, the amendment will lead to clash of schedules of different operators and the KSRTC and the running time and burden the long-distance commuters who were hiterto depending on the private stage carriers.
“The KSRTC will also be affected as they will also have to operate ordinary services like us. The decision is aimed at helping the KSRTC ignoring the private bus industry’s valuable service and patronage. The ₹110 crore monthly loss suffered by the transport utility at present will only go up,” Mr. Babu told.
The notification issued on February 8, 2016, during the previous UDF regime while retaining the 241 super class services as LSOS with private stage carriers had not enforced the distance criteria, he pointed out.
“The proposed amendment will further plunge the 16,000 private stage carriers into further crisis and result in withdrawal of the existing bus operators.
