Free bus travel prompts private operators to take call on strike on July 6
Bus operators’ associations in Kerala held a joint consultative meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, June 30, to decide on a statewide motor strike and raise demands. A detailed meeting of bus operators, auto-taxi operators, and tourist bus operators will meet again on July 6 to take a call on the strike. The operators are alleging that the Priyadrashini free bus travel scheme for women and transgender people has significantly affected their earnings, forcing them into financial distress. The Priyadarshini scheme was introduced under the Congress-led UDF government’s Indira Guarantees and is currently being implemented on 3,125 ordinary KSRTC buses across Kerala. According to the Transport Department, an additional five lakh women have started using KSRTC ordinary services because of the scheme. Although private operators are not opposed to the scheme, they said that the state government should still address the fall in passenger numbers and revenue that they have suffered due to its implementation. In response to this issue, Kerala Transport Minister CP John said that the government would hold discussions with the stakeholders involved to rectify the problem. He urged them not to suspend their services and that the government is willing to hold discussions before the issue escalates. The Minister said that the motor vehicle tax burden on private buses has already been reduced by 59% to provide relief to the operators. He also suggested that private bus operators explore advertising as an additional revenue source, similar to the KSRTC buses. The Minister said that the problem is most prominent on routes where both KSRTC buses and private services move simultaneously and that this issue can be fixed through better scheduling and route coordination, thus avoiding direct conflict between the two sectors. This article was written by a student interning with TNM.
BUS operators’ associations in Kerala held a joint consultative meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, June 30, to decide on a statewide motor strike and raise demands. A detailed meeting of bus operators, auto-taxi operators, and tourist bus operators will meet again on July 6 to take a call on the strike.
The operators are alleging that the Priyadrashini free bus travel scheme for women and transgender people has significantly affected their earnings, forcing them into financial distress.
The Priyadarshini scheme was introduced under the Congress-led UDF government’s Indira Guarantees and is currently being implemented on 3,125 ordinary KSRTC buses across Kerala. According to the Transport Department, an additional five lakh women have started using KSRTC ordinary services because of the scheme.
Although private operators are not opposed to the scheme, they said that the state government should still address the fall in passenger numbers and revenue that they have suffered due to its implementation.
In response to this issue, Kerala Transport Minister CP John said that the government would hold discussions with the stakeholders involved to rectify the problem. He urged them not to suspend their services and that the government is willing to hold discussions before the issue escalates.
The Minister said that the motor vehicle tax burden on private buses has already been reduced by 59% to provide relief to the operators. He also suggested that private bus operators explore advertising as an additional revenue source, similar to the KSRTC buses.
The Minister said that the problem is most prominent on routes where both KSRTC buses and private services move simultaneously and that this issue can be fixed through better scheduling and route coordination, thus avoiding direct conflict between the two sectors.
This article was written by a student interning with TNM.
