THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KSRTC-Swift, the new transport company formed to revive KSRTC’s fortunes, has had a bumpy start with three accidents and a death within the first four days of its launch.
While flagging it off on April 11, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said the new initiative would lead KSRTC to prosperity. It has, however, gained negative publicity through the accidents. The first two accidents were minor, resulting in broken mirrors or scratches. But the third resulted in the death of a pedestrian, Paraswamy, in Thrissur on Thursday. While initial reports said the bus had hit Paraswamy, it was later confirmed that he was first hit by a pickup van. The bus then ran over his legs.
Nevertheless, the accidents have come as an embarrassment for the management after the grand launch of KSRTC-Swift, claiming to offer professional services. The developments have also given ammunition to the critics of Swift, both within and outside the organisation.
Suspecting a sabotage angle, the management had filed a police complaint. Transport Minister Antony Raju even went on to say that he suspected the role of the private bus lobby. Later, he said the accidents were minor and the issue was blown out of proportion. But the management summarily dismissed the drivers involved in the first two accidents after an internal probe. “We wanted to send a message that we are operating a professional service. Otherwise, the employees will consider it as business as usual,” an officer said. The internal probe found that buses were not keeping the required distance from the vehicles ahead of them. The quick reaction from the management has stunned the crew.
“There is constant pressure from passengers to increase the speed. We have to maintain the schedule and at the same time handle the vehicle safely on a crowded road,” said a driver-cum-conductor of a KSRTC-Swift bus. Though the accidents have led to questions whether the drivers were properly trained to handle the buses, the management has dismissed the allegations. Jude Joseph, a vehicle inspector and a petitioner in various corruption cases in the KSRTC, alleged that there was active negative campaigning against Swift within the KSRTC.
“The Swift crew should be given enough confidence to overcome the negative campaigning. When KSRTC launched the Super Fast services in the early 90s, there were a lot of fatal accidents. The situation changed with the right kind of mentoring,” Jude said. KSRTC chairman and managing director Biju Prabhakar did not respond to the calls made by TNIE.
ORGANISED ATTACKS AGAINST SERVICES FLAYED
The KSRTC management has flayed organised attacks against the newly launched KSRTC-Swift services. In an FB post, they said KSRTC-Swift was launched as a better alternative for private inter-state bus operators. The new service is a solution to the fleecing by private companies. Private operators are charging two to threefold of the normal charge on festival days. But KSRTC-Swift offers cheaper services. For February 14, private players charged Rs 2,800 for a Bangalore-Ernakulam trip while the KSRTC-Swift's charge was Rs 1,264. K-Swift charges the same rate for weekends unlike private players, the post said.
Current fleet
8 Sleeper buses, 20 AC buses
88 Non-AC buses
Fleet plans
116 Diesel buses, 50 Electric buses, 310 CNG buses