THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The KSRTC is grappling with an acute shortage of buses for its ordinary services, caught between strict federal mandates and a severe fleet deficit. The pressure began with the Union government’s vehicle scrapping policy, which mandates that all state and central public vehicles older than 15 years must be taken off the road.
For KSRTC, strict adherence to the rule would have meant immediately grounding over 1,100 buses. Most of the affected buses are the ordinary buses which operate the popular Priyadarshini scheme.
To prevent an immediate breakdown of public transit, the state government granted a temporary lifeline, extending the operational cap for state buses to 20 years and stretching registration validity through September 30, 2026.
However, officials stress that this will not offer a permanent solution as the Centre remains intent on enforcing the original policy.
“We need to have a plan to improve the fleet size. Though the transport minister took up the issue with the Union minister, there has been no headway,” said an official.
This policy extension merely postpones an ongoing structural deficit caused by years of unequal retirement and procurement rates.
Between 2016 and February 2025, KSRTC auctioned off 2,202 buses as scrap, yet acquired only 538 new vehicles over that same nine-year period.
Making matters worse for daily commuters, the vast majority of these new acquisitions were funnelled into the premium KSRTC-SWIFT operations, leaving the primary corporation with a meagre 100 new buses to replenish its core fleet.
The long-standing shortfall has created a noticeable gap between owned inventory and actual road presence. While KSRTC holds a registered total fleet size of 5,765 buses, operational constraints restrict it to running just 4,663 daily schedules.
The corporation’s active running fleet currently stands at 4,468 buses. The already overextended ordinary network was pushed to its limits with the introduction of the Priyadarshini scheme, which provides free travel for women on ordinary buses.
The initiative triggered a 29% surge in daily ridership-climbing from 19 lakh to 24.5 lakh passengers — resulting in severe overcrowding across local routes.
The sheer volume of passengers on these over-aged vehicles has sparked safety concerns, particularly following a series of accidents involving packed ordinary buses.
To rebuild the ordinary fleet without overburdening KSRTC’s fragile finances, the state is looking toward decentralised funding options. Transport Minister C P John announced plans to amend existing legislation, paving the way for MLAs and local self-government bodies to directly deploy local plan funds to sponsor and purchase new public buses for their communities.
Fleet inventory breakdown
Total registered fleet size: 5,765
Active running fleet: 4,468 (comprising 2,617 ordinary, 992 fast passenger, 295 super fast, and 1 express service)
Priyadarshini scheme surge: 29% overall increase in daily ridership (rose from 19 lakh to 24.5 lakh passengers)
Fleet deficit
(2016 - Feb 2025): 2,202 buses scrapped versus 538 new buses added
100 buses received by KSRTC core versus 438 allocated to KSRTC SWIFT
