KOCHI: The Onam season has proved to be a shot in the arm for the cash-strapped Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) as its Ernakulam unit posted a record collection by operating additional inter-state services to Bengaluru and Chennai.
The depot registered the highest daily earning of Rs 26,57,433 on September 13 when it operated a total of 68 services. Similarly, it fetched a daily collection of Rs 23,11,619 on September 17. “This time, the Chief Office gave us a daily target of Rs 23 lakh, which was the highest daily earning that we registered during the last Onam season. However, this time we could breach the target twice on September 13 and September 17,” said a senior KSRTC official.
This is even as the corporation is expecting its highest single-day state-wide collection on Monday when the daily earning is expected to touch the record Rs nine-crore mark. “There is a heavy rush today as the schools have reopened and families are returning back after the vacation,” the official added.
The corporation operated additional interstate services to the two metro cities continuously from August 10 to September 22. “During this period, we operated six additional schedules to Bengaluru. This is besides the usual four daily Bengaluru services. We operated one additional service to Chennai during the said period. We’ve also run additional services to destinations like Kozhikode, Mananthavady, Kannur, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram,” he said.
Super Deluxe buses and crew were sourced from other depots to operate the inter-state services which witnessed heavy rush throughout the period. “Despite implementing flexi charges and end-to-end fare system, our charges were still much lower than the rates charged by private buses during the Onam season,” he said.
Daily revenue collection
September 13 Rs 26,57,433
September 14 Rs 16,46,871
September 15 Rs 15,64,080
September 16 Rs 19,18,800
September 17 Rs 23,11,619
September 18 Rs 20,79,444
September 19 Rs 18,20,579
September 20 Rs 18,97,570
September 21 Rs 17,73,039