BENGALURU: Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation’s (KSRTC) ambitious parcel service will take off from next week. The bus corporation, which has been on the lookout to augment its revenue, has pinned its hopes on parcel service using trucks.
KSRTC, which used to carry parcels on a limited scale on its buses, will now be operating 20 trucks which will deliver the parcels to the designated addresses. The service is expected to give tough competition to private players and increase its revenue.
KSRTC MD Anbu Kumar said “The trucks for parcel services are ready. We are gearing up to launch the service next week onwards.” In the current Namma Cargo service offered by KSRTC, parcels are loaded on to buses and people have to head to the KSRTC bus stand to send their parcels. The recipient also has to claim the parcel only at the bus stand.
However, with the revamped service, KSRTC officials said parcels will be delivered to people at their doorstep.
They said they had purchased 20 trucks of 6-tonne capacity for the purpose. “With the present parcel service, the bus corporation is making more than Rs 1 crore per month. With the truck service, we wish to mop up more revenue. Based on the response, we will add more trucks to the parcel service,” the official said.
Asked if KSRTC’s parcel service charges will be lower than what private operators charge, so that people who are already availing of the services might be interested in shifting to the government service, Anbu Kumar said they are exploring all options.