Kozhikode: In a U-turn, the Kerala government on Friday decided not to operate long distance inter-district bus services of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation from August 1.
Transport Minister A K Saseendran, who had announced the commencement of services from Saturday, said that the decision to suspend plying of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation buses was taken in view of the hindrances in operating as there were many containment zones, besides increasing spike in COVID-19 cases through contacts.
"We were hoping to resume operations of inter district services from tomorrow. But a review of containment zones made us rethink our decision as many places across the state fall under containment zones," the minister said.
Earlier on Friday morning, the minister had announced the decision to resume as many as 206 long- distance bus services from August 1 after being suspended for over four months due to the lockdown.
The health department also suggested that long distance bus service should not be resumed, Manorama News had reported.
The usage of public transport has significantly gone down during the pandemic. The sale of two-wheelers and used vehicles have risen during the period. Operating public transport in this context is challenging. The decision to operate long distance services was taken in this context, Pinarayi had said on Thursday.
No private buses
Owners of around 9,000 private buses have informed the state government that they will not ply on the roads until further notice.
The decision was taken after the government refused to waiver the road tax of the buses till December. Though the state government extended the time period for paying road tax by another two months, it has refused to agree to a full waiver.
Fuel subsidy during COVID period, payment of employee's provident fund and road tax waiver were among the key demands raised by the private bus owners.
