BENGALURU: To cater to the demand of commuters travelling between Karnataka and Kerala, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Kerala State Road Transport Corporation have decided to operate additional buses under a new supplemental agreement.Under the new agreement, KSRTC can operate new services on five routes covering 4,314km in Kerala. Some of the new routes are Bengaluru-Pathanamthitta, Kundapura-Thiruvananthapuram, Kundapura-Kottayam, Manipal-Ernakulam and Kollur-Guruvayur. Similarly, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation will operate new services on seven routes covering 4,420 km in Karnataka.
For the first time both the states have agreed on tax exemption for 250 buses each every year that are operated on special permits. This means additional buses could be operated on casual contract basis by both transport corporations during Sabarimala and festival seasons. The additional buses will be exempted from payment of Motor Vehicle tax, passenger tax, entry tax, etc.
So far, Karnataka and Kerala have entered into one principal agreement and five supplemental agreements. During the Southern States Transport Ministers Conference held on July 20 at Alappuzha in Kerala wherein transport ministers of Karnataka and Kerala participated, Dr B Basavaraaju, Principal Secretary, transport department, Karnataka, and K R Jyothilal, secretary, transport department, Kerala, held discussions and finalised the routes to be introduced by the State Transport Undertakings of both states. The also discusses exemption from payment of taxes for buses operated on special permits.