KOCHI: For passengers forced to travel long distances during the day under the unforgiving sun, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation’s (KSRTC) superfast AC service could not have arrived at a better time.
No wonder, the first of the carrier’s superfast AC services launched on experimental basis earlier this week, is running at full capacity and raking in good collections.
The new Swift superfast buses with glass windows are being converted to AC buses at KSRTC workshops to operate the new superfast AC services.
The best part? Commuters need to pay only 10 per cent more than the superfast bus fare to travel in the cool comfort of the AC buses.
The first superfast AC bus, converted at the Chalakkudy workshop, was deployed on the Thiruvananthapuram-Ernakulam route from April 21. “The bus operated almost at full capacity both on Monday and Tuesday. There was not a single complaint from commuters about the AC system. In fact, they were happy with the cooling and travel comfort,” said a top KSRTC official.
The daily service starts from the Thampanoor Central bus station in Thiruvananthapuram at 8 am and proceeds via Kollam, Kayamkulam, Alappuzha and Vyttila to reach Ernakulam bus station at 1.30pm. In the return direction, the bus departs from Ernakulam bus station at 4.15pm to reach its destination by 9.45pm. The bus features a unique hybrid AC system developed by Chalakkudy-based Heavy Cool company. The system runs on four batteries and has no direct links to the engine.
This means the AC can be switched on without having to turn the engine on.“We’re operating the single bus on operational basis for three weeks. If the service enjoys good commuter patronage, we will convert more superfast buses into AC ones. The plan is to fit the AC system in 40 Swift superclass buses,” the official said. Converting one bus costs the KSRTC around Rs 6 lakh. Hence, the buses need to run at full capacity for the service to be profitable.
“The air ducts have been arranged in such a way that cool air is distributed evenly. This means even the passengers who are standing can experience the cool comfort,” the official said.
The Swift superfast AC service is the latest measure initiated by Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar after his successful experiment with the ‘AC Premium superfast’, which is running profitably.