COVID-19 is taking a toll on the crisis-ridden Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), which has seen a drastic drop in the number of passengers and daily revenue over the past one week.
Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran told media here on Monday that the daily average revenue per km had dropped from ₹38 on March 10 to ₹27.32 in a week. The daily revenue had fallen from ₹5.65 crore to ₹2.83 crore between March 10 and March 15. “On March 10, there were 26.14 lakh passengers. The next day, it became 23 lakh. On March 14, it went down to 16.38 lakh,” Mr. Saseendran said.
The Minister said the collection on March 11 was ₹5.03 crore. The next day, it fell to ₹4.41 crore. On March 13, the revenue was ₹4.15 crore. It has become difficult for the corporation to go ahead without government support, he said.
Mr. Saseendran said private bus operators too were facing a tough time. “Around 300 buses had to cut down on their services in Kozhikode on Sunday alone. The government will examine the possibility of extending the date to remit taxes,” he said. Asked about the KSRTC reducing its scheduled trips, the Minister said it might have happened because of the drop in the number of passengers.
