The expert panel constituted by the state government to look into the complaints of private bus owners against KSRTC's 'Priyadarshini' free travel scheme for women has recommended taking private buses on lease. This is one of the recommendations included in the report, which was submitted on Wednesday.

The committee was constituted in July and included former Transport Commissioner K Padmakumar, NATPAC former director B G Sreedevi, Transport Department Additional Secretary Vijayasree KS and NATPAC technical officer Sanjay R J. Joint Transport Commissioner K Manoj Kumar was appointed the transport authority.

Sources told Onmanorama that the committee has carefully considered the recommendations during the three sittings held with the private bus owners and that they expressed willingness to give their buses on lease. "It was one of the key suggestions from the bus owners. The committee has recommended a detailed study to flesh out mutually agreeable conditions to run private buses on lease," a source said.

The bus owners were given forms to fill out aspects of daily loss, and all the owners have reported losses with the launch of the 'Priyadarshini' scheme. The committee is learnt to have noted that a detailed study is required to gauge the losses incurred by the private bus owners.

Considering the grievances, the committee has also mooted easing out conditions on routes and permits for private buses to operate services on holidays or for special occasions like marriage. Another recommendation is to create a system where private buses can avail services of KSRTC Yatra fuel outlets by deducting commission.

In August, the private bus operators filed a complaint with the Competition Commission. The complaint said that the implementation of the Priyadarshini scheme has given KSRTC an unfair and anti-competitive advantage. It cites Section 19(1)(a), which deals with the mechanism for initiating an inquiry, and Section 4, which concerns the abuse of a dominant position, under the Competition Act, 2002.

It was cited that while the government compensates KSRTC for the losses incurred by offering free travel, no similar mechanism has been put in place to address the losses suffered by Kerala's private bus operators.

The scheme became effective on June 15, 2026. The Transport department issued an order saying that all the contract liabilities, daily operational expenses as part of the scheme will be borne by the state government and that the KSRTC Chairman shall take steps to identy avenues for non-fare revenue to negate the additional financial losses.