Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and other State transport corporations plan to hire 8,719 employees following the retirement of 13,669 employees, according to Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy.
State-run road transport corporations (RTCs) — KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC, and KKRTC — have not recruited any driver, conductor, or mechanic in the past eight years.
Mr Reddy told The Hindu, “Since 2016, 13,669 staff members have retired, causing a shortage in our workforce. The lack of drivers has prevented us from utilising our fleet to its full capacity. To address this, we plan to recruit 8,719 individuals across all four corporations, and also add new buses. The State Government has approved recruitment of 6,500 drivers and 300 mechanical staff in the first phase.”
Proposed recruitment* in numbers
- KSRTC — 2,000 drivers-cum-conductors, and 300 technical staff
- NWKRTC — 2,000 drivers-cum-conductors
- BMTC — 2,500 conductors
- KKRTC — 300 conductors
* Source: Transport department
Pandemic disrupts regular hiring
After the Covid-19 pandemic, financially-strained corporations were instructed by the then government to halt regular hiring as a cost-cutting measure.
In February 2023, the KSRTC took measures to tackle the driver shortage by outsourcing drivers to various divisions. This decision was made since the KSRTC had a shortage of 2,000 drivers. Currently, the total staff strength of the KSRTC is 35,000, out of which a majority are drivers and conductors.
“If we encounter a shortage of administrative staff, we can cope through digitization. However, shortage of drivers and mechanical staff will directly impact our services. Hence, we have commenced the recruitment process for drivers and conductors,” Mr. Reddy explained.
Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation(BMTC), similar to the KSRTC, is currently experiencing a deficit of 5,000 drivers.
Government gives green signal
After the State Government gave the green signal, KSRTC plans to hire 2,000 drivers-cum-conductors, and 300 technical staff. The NWKRTC plans to recruit 2,000 drivers-cum-conductors, the BMTC 2,500 conductors, and the KKRTC plans to hire 300 conductors.
The KKRTC, which is responsible for serving the Kalyana Karnataka region, is in the process of recruiting 1,619 staff members, and is conducting driving tests. The Transport Minister has stated that this process will be completed by January 2024.
Following the success of the Shakti scheme, providing free travel to women passengers in non-premium RTC services, the government intends to acquire 5,675 new buses. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently held a review meeting with Transport Department officials. He directed them to utilise the ₹500 crore allocated in the budget to purchase new buses.
Since its introduction on June 11 this year, the Shakti scheme in RTCs has facilitated free bus service for 82 crore women, incurring a total cost of ₹1,933,40,02,184 to the exchequer.
