KSRTC to take 250 offbeat vehicles on dry lease for inter-state, long-distance services

Kollam: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), which burnt its fingers by taking buses on a rental basis earlier, is once again making a similar attempt as part of an exercise to dole out the corporation from the present financial crisis.

A tendering process has been set in motion for taking buses from private parties on a dry lease. Applications have been invited from interested parties for giving buses to the KSRTC on dry lease for three years. The dry lease means providing service without a crew -  bus driver and conductor. About 250 buses will be taken on dry lease by the KSRTC under this scheme.

The rate of lease per kilometre has been notified for five categories of buses. The bidding is for 10 premium class luxury 37-seater AC buses, 20 AC semi sleeper 37-seater buses, 20 non-AC air suspension 42-seater buses and 100 non-AC mid-size 18 to 34 seater buses and 100 non-AC mid-size 25 to 32-seater buses.

The three categories of stakeholders -- bus owners, those who have the capacity to arrange buses on lease and those who are part of the collective of bus operators -- can enter into a contract with the KSRTC under the scheme.

All the buses to be given on dry lease to the KSRTC must have been registered in Kerala and they should not have been more than 10 years old. An applicant for the bid should also have the capacity to hand over a minimum of 10 buses to the KSRTC. The maintenance of the bus, including tyre change, and insurance payment would be the responsibility of the lessor.

The colour and design of the buses should follow the uniform pattern as mandated by the KSRTC. The high-class buses will be used for inter-State travel and long-distance travel. The main halting centres for these buses will be in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. The mid-size buses will be mainly used for conducting trips to remote inland areas.

The buses will be deployed for services in various depots as per the requirement of the corporation. The buses will be parked in the special parking area of the buses at KSRTC depots. The cleaning of buses after each service will be the responsibility of those who had handed over the buses. The high-class buses will be used for 18 hours per day.

An online meeting of those who are interested in taking up the contract will be held on November 26 afternoon. As per the advertisement, the last date for submitting the tenders will be on December 6. The tender will be opened on December 8 at 11 am.

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