Existing fleet of buses falling short to cater to huge demand; buses operating in 100 percent occupancy
Mysore/Mysuru: With a massive increase in the number of women travelling in KSRTC buses after the State Government launched Shakti scheme that provides free travel for women, KSRTC Mysuru Division has asked the Government for 120 additional buses.
According to the Divisional Controller (DC) of KSRTC Mysuru Depot B. Srinivas, within a span of two weeks since the scheme was implemented on June 11, an impressive number of over 4.4 million women have travelled on the buses operated by KSRTC Mysuru Division, including the urban division.
The regular buses, which previously had an occupancy rate of 60 to 70 percent, are now running at full capacity with 100 percent occupancy. Some buses are even overloaded, exceeding their passenger capacity, with women being the majority of passengers, he revealed.
These statistics have resulted in a significant increase in revenue for the State-owned public transport, reaching Rs. 1.59 crore per day compared to the previous Rs. 1.25 crore, generating a surplus revenue of Rs. 34 lakh.
Rs. 10.26 crore revenue
Since the launch of the scheme, approximately 2,96,000 women passengers are now travelling daily in KSRTC buses in the Mysuru Division alone, generating revenue of Rs. 67 lakh from the journey of 4.48 million women so far. The total revenue from ticket fares, which will be borne by the State Government, amounts to Rs. 10.26 crore, Srinivas noted.
However, due to the increasing number of women boarding KSRTC buses, men are finding it challenging to secure seats for their travel, as reported by the drivers and conductors. While the passenger load remains normal on inter-city and inter-State routes, there has been a gradual rise in passenger numbers on city and rural buses within the KSRTC system, he added.
More drivers, conductors
Following the spurt in passenger density, the existing fleet of buses are falling short to cater to the demand. Hence, it has been proposed to KSRTC Central Office to allot 120 additional buses for KSRTC Mysuru Division, along with additional number of drivers and conductors to meet the requirement of increase in number of trips too.
The inevitable situation has paved the way for an increase in the number of trips for existing buses and it has been requested to provide additional drivers and conductors, he explained.
Currently, Mysuru Division has 1,071 buses including 830 buses in the ambit of Shakti scheme, air-conditioned Airavata and Rajahamsa buses including 3,454 conductors and drivers. “Despite a shortage of 200 personnel, we are somehow managing to run the buses,” added Srinivas.
If additional 120 buses are allotted as per the demand, a minimum of 400 drivers and conductors are required. But, with more women opting for regular buses than luxury buses like Airavata, Rajahamsa and electric buses, the division can make up for the losses from surplus revenue generated from Shakti scheme, noted Srinivas.
On the flip side, the women who were preferring to travel in private buses, cabs and autorickshaws are also turning towards KSRTC buses to make most of the Shakti scheme, dealing a severe blow to private transport operators, besides trains too where also there is a decline in the number of commuters.
This post was published on June 28, 2023 7:43 pm