THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to woo office-goers away from using their personal vehicles while commuting to work, KSRTC has begun preparations for running a point-to-point service from select depots. The service will help passengers to park their vehicles at a KSRTC depot, board the bus, take the pre-booked seat and pickup and drop off near the office. The schedule will be arranged to help passengers reach office in the morning on time and return after the office hours. KSRTC has started assessment of the passenger demand for the service.
“We have started spreading the message. At present we will run the service on a pilot basis from Nedumangad and Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram,” said N K Jacob Sam Lopez, district transport officer. The depots in Nedumangad and Neyyattinkara have opened a registration facility on Monday and we are getting steady enquiries from regular passengers.
“We have already received enough registrations for three buses,” said T Sajeev, assistant transport officer. According to him, employees of state Secretariat, Vikas Bhavan and assembly form bulk of those who have registered for the service. Suresh Kumar K K, head of KSRTC Nedumangad unit, also said there have been numerous enquiries after the news had spread on social media.
The fare for a day’s trip from Nedumangad to Thiruvananthapuram and back is likely to be fixed at `100. But the officials said no decision has been taken on the schedules to be operated or the fares so far. “There will be no stops between the boarding and destination points. The service will not only offer safe travel but will also be cheaper when compared to using own vehicle,” said a KSRTC official. All 50 seats in the bus will be available for booking, but no standing passengers will be allowed.
KSRTC is likely to start the service as it is a pet project of Biju Prabhakar, the new managing director. He had said that one of his aims is to make KSRTC service attractive for people who otherwise use two-wheelers. A study said the KSRTC had lost more than one-and-a-half lakh passengers to private vehicles over the years. Around 32 lakh passengers use the KSRTC service daily.