Representative imageKottayam: Even at a time when the very existence of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is at stake because of mounting losses, gross mismanagement of day-to-day operations by officials of the undertaking continues unabated.
In the latest such instance to come to light, a KSRTC bus was run on New Year’s day all the way from Kottayam to Palakkad for just three passengers who were to board the bus from Thrissur.
All because someone forgot to reconfigure the online reservation for 5 months!
The transport undertaking had, by mistake, allowed online reservation for 48 passengers in the 45-seater AC bus that runs on the Kottayam-Salem-Bengaluru route. An AC bus had to be brought from Alappuzha depot to accommodate the three extra passengers. The bus ran empty till Thrissur.
Officials say the online reservation system is configured for the 48-seater bus that used to service the route.
That bus, however, was pulled out of service after an accident 5 months ago. Currently, passengers with reservations from Kottayam are taken till Palakkad in a 45-seater, and from there to Bengaluru in another bus.
The bus that was involved in the accident has been repaired at Salem, but the KSRTC says it does not have the money to pay the garage and put it back into service.
