KL 15 tales

Express journeys down the years to get a ringside view of the entity which is seared in Kerala’s collective consciousness.

For representational purposes

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation(KSRTC), Kerala’s public transporter, evokes conflicting emotions among the public. Several lakh people rely on KSRTC, which has a 20% share of the public transport system in the state, for their daily commute. Regular passengers have even created WhatsApp groups and blogs to lobby for their favourite service. Any disruption in its services has a direct impact on the lives of people. But, a lack of foresight and inefficient management have plunged the organisation into a deep crisis. Consequently, the public transporter plagued by massive debt and pension liabilities is labouring to sustain its operations. Express journeys down the years to get a ringside view of the entity which is seared in Kerala’s collective consciousness.

History

• KSRTC is among the earliest, still surviving, public transporters in the country. Its journey began during the British Raj when Travancore State Transport Department (TSTD) was constituted. E G Salter, an assistant operating superintendent of London Passenger Transport Board, was entrusted with the task of operationalising the utility. 
• He brought 60 Comet chassis fitted with Perkins diesel engines from England. The bodies for the chassis were built here. Salter himself drove then Travancore Maharaja Sree Chithira Thirunal from the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple to Kowdiar Square on February 20, 1938. This was followed by 33 buses and people turned out in large numbers to witness the spectacle.
• The first bus designed by Salter was a 23-seater. It had a first class enclosure, with a passenger entry door at the rear. A total of 39 buses started service on three routes -- Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil, Nagercoil-Kanyakumari and Nagercoil-Colachal -- a day after the inaugural trip.
• Kerala State Road Transport Corporation was established on April 1, 1965. KSRTC inherited a fleet of 901 buses, 51 lorries and 29 other vehicles. The lorries were being used primarily to transport tea from Kanan Devan Hills in Munnar to the  port in Kochi.