Kochi: Even as the much-touted KSRTC-SWIFT was launched with the slogan "A New Era in Public Transport," several low-floor buses belonging to the Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC) have been gathering rust at its yard in Thevara here.
KSRTC-SWIFT is a legally independent company formed to operate long-distance and bypass rider service. Flagging off the service in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday (April 11), Chief Pinarayi Vijayan termed it the debt-ridden KSRTC's first step towards a better future. He also sought the support of all for the initiative.
The public wholeheartedly welcomed the service, with the initial services operating in full capacity. The multi-axle, interstate Gajaraja sleeper service provides clean blankets, crisps, juice and sweets to passengers free of cost. The service also provides 20-minute meal breaks.
Initial passengers have already demanded the corporation to provide pillows and bedsheets, besides installing toilet facilities in the buses.
Even as the corporation had spent crores of rupees to launch the SWIFT service, the KURTC buses, launched with equal fanfare in April 2015, have been remaining in utter neglect at its headquarters in Thevara, Kochi.
The rusting buses include 50 vehicles made available under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Some of the buses had been operating services until recently.
KSRTC cited lack of funds and shortage of spare parts for the sorry state of the buses. The company entrusted with the maintenance of buses, meanwhile, expressed willingness to take up the repair works if the KSRTC could pay it in installments of Rs 20 lakh each.
The electric buses, which the KSRTC had taken on rent, too have been incurring losses.
Incidentally, the JNNURM buses, including air-conditioned ones, were allotted to the KSRTC and the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation at the same time. Karnataka is still operating the buses -- a picture in contrast to that of the Thevara yard where KURTC buses worth crores have been remaining in neglect and exposed to elements.
