KOCHI: Even as Kerala State Road Transport Corporation’s (KSRTC) bypass feeder service in the city attracted ridicule for being a failure, the public transport body is trying its hand at another service. A long-distance non-stop Swift service will be run from Ernakulam to Thiruvananthapuram this Friday.
According to a KSRTC official, the bookings for the trip from Ernakulam to Thiruvananthapuram are promising. “But the same can’t be said about the trip from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam. The service is being launched to take advantage of the weekend rush between the two cities,” he said.
There are not enough trains during weekends and this results in a huge rush. “Also, travelling in buses is considered tedious due to multiple stops. Due to this, people prefer to use their own vehicles. However, if a non-stop service is made available, more and more people will use it,” said the official, adding that they are keeping their fingers crossed. If successful, this service will be a good revenue generator.
Meanwhile, in the case of the beleaguered bypass feeder service, KSRTC hopes that the start of the bypass rider services will come to its rescue. According to a KSRTC official with the Ernakulam depot, at present, five buses are conducting the service from Vyttila. “Three go in the clockwise direction and two in the anti-clockwise direction,” he said.
“Though the service is yet to break even, there has been a lot of improvement in the earnings. At present, each service is earning Rs 2,000 daily. Earlier, it was below Rs 1,000,” said the official. The official agreed that the colour and pattern of the buses played a part in the poor collections. “The feeder buses will act as connecting services for those using the bypass rider service. These rider services will be operating from Kozhikode to Thiruvananthapuram via Kottayam and Alappuzha and back,” said the official.