THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar expressed displeasure with KSRTC officials in connection with the leakage of a report on the performance of electric buses, during a meeting held on Monday.
He sought an explanation from the KSRTC management for leaking the report to the media two days before the report was submitted to him. The report went against the minister’s claim that the electric buses were making losses. According to the profitability statement of electric buses operated by KSRTC-Swift, the electric buses made a profit of Rs 3 crore in nine months and an average profit of Rs 8.21 for every kilometre operated.
The minister also sought the performance of buses on the routes before deciding on rescheduling.
The officials who attended the meeting said that the minister was on the defensive after the CPM came out against his stand on electric vehicles. KSRTC has put on hold the purchases of electric buses under the Smart City Project.
The minister is likely to take a decision only after holding talks with the CM. To improve driving test standards, the transport department has appointed a nine-member committee to submit a report, based on the directives of Ganesh Kumar. The committee will be headed by deputy transport commissioner Shaji Madhavan.
PROFITABILITY
According to the profitability statement of electric buses operated by KSRTC-Swift, the electric buses made a profit of Rs 3 crore in nine months and an average profit of Rs 8.21 for every kilometre operated