KOCHI: KSRTC Ernakulam depot which lost its Volvo multi-axle bus in the accident at Avinashi is looking for alternatives to operate the profitable service. Currently, KSRTC Ernakulam depot operates two Volvo multi-axle buses on Ernakulam-Bengaluru route, of which one met with the accident on Thursday.
V M Thajudheen Sahib, district transport officer, KSRTC Ernakulam, said attempts are being made to find an alternative bus to operate the service. “When one Volvo bus starts from Bengaluru to Ernakulam, the other one begins its service from here to Bengaluru. With only one bus available, it is hard to operate service from both sides at a time. We will check whether any additional multi-axle bus is available with other depots which can be used for the Bengaluru service. The available fleet of super deluxe buses is also being checked to replace the Volvo bus. We are trying not to cancel the service to ensure that our regular passengers do not face trouble,” he said.
On Friday, KSRTC operated a special service from Bengaluru to Ernakulam. A super deluxe bus was used for operating the special service and its entire seats were booked. Similarly, tickets of Ernakulam-Bengaluru Volvo service to be operated on Sunday were sold out by Thursday.
Meanwhile, the bus which met with the accident is likely to be moved to Palakkad. KSRTC officials said that the bus was damaged beyond repair. KSRTC will be sending a team to assess the damage in the coming days. “From the preliminary assessment, the bus seems to be beyond repair. There are insurance procedures to be completed,” an official at KSRTC’s head office said.