THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The KSRTC has launched its Onam special services to Bengaluru by deploying private buses leased specifically for the upcoming festive season. The initiative is expected to bring major relief to long-distance commuters whose travel plans have been severely disrupted by an ongoing shortage of buses within the state fleet.
The initial contingent of these leased vehicles is scheduled to reach Bengaluru from Kozhikode and Ernakulam on Tuesday. The first batch of five buses has been secured on a wet lease from Voyilo Trading, a consortium based in Thrissur. “We have provided new buses registered in 2024 and 2025 for wet lease. The stickers carrying our labels have been removed and replaced with KSRTC stickers. We will provide more buses in the coming days,” said Dileesh Jose, managing partner of Voyilo Trading.
Under the broader rollout, KSRTC plans to wet lease a fleet of 63 luxury diesel-fuelled air-conditioned buses. The wet-lease mechanism is a standard operational strategy used to run the maximum permitted number of services when a transport corporation lacks the fleet capacity to meet commuter demand independently. While neighbouring Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation has successfully relied on this model for some time, Kerala’s past experience with leased fleets has been considerably mixed.
Private bus owners had initially shown strong reluctance to partner with the state utility due to chronic delays in past payment settlements, according to Sebastian Kuttikad, state president of the All Kerala Contract Operators’ Federation.
However, according to KSRTC officials, Transport Minister C P John himself got involved to secure the fleet. “The concerns regarding payment was addressed after assuring release of payment the next day after submitting the bills,” an official said. This strategic pivot sees KSRTC returning to the wet-lease arrangement four years after a similar experiment drew intense criticism from trade unions and ultimately inflicted heavy financial losses on the cash-strapped public utility.
Under the terms of the current wet-leasing framework, private operators will supply the buses, employ the drivers and take full responsibility for vehicle maintenance. KSRTC, meanwhile, will deploy its own conductors to handle route scheduling and ticket collection.
Senior officials emphasised that the wet-lease structure was specifically selected to rapidly scale up premium, long-distance operations without forcing the cash-strapped corporation to spend its limited capital on procuring brand-new buses.
Also, to avoid repeating past missteps, where poorly maintained leased vehicles suffered frequent breakdowns and routine schedule cancellations under earlier contracts, KSRTC has not relaxed the quality criteria for private participants this time around.
6-month contract
KSRTC plans to wet lease a fleet of 63 luxury diesel-fuelled air-conditioned buses, heavily featuring sleeper and seater-cum-sleeper models, to capture high-volume revenue on lucrative inter-state routes during peak demand periods.
The temporary fleet is being brought in on a six-month contract spanning from August 15, 2026, through January 31, 2027 – a strategic window designed to cover the continuous festive and pilgrimage rushes of Onam, Sabarimala, Christmas and New Year