Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Transport Minister C P John on Monday announced the constitution of a five-member committee to study the issues faced by private bus operators following the implementation of the state's Priyadarshini scheme.
Under the scheme, women are allowed to travel free of cost in Kerala State Road Transport Corporation ordinary buses across the state.
The announcement was made after a meeting here with representatives of various private bus operators' associations.
John said the committee would study the issues faced by private bus operators at the grassroots level and identify regions where the Priyadarshini scheme had adversely affected their operations.
The committee will be headed by retired DGP K Padmakumar.
Its other members are BG Sreedevi, former Director and present Vice-Chairperson of NATPAC; Additional Secretary KS Vijayashree, representing the government; Joint Transport Commissioner Manoj, who will serve as the convenor; and transport economist Sanjay R J.
He said the committee had been directed to complete the study within 45 days and submit its report to the government.
"The committee will hold consultations with the operators once again, conduct sittings with them, examine the issues specific to different regions instead of making a general assessment and submit its report to the government," he said.
John said the state government would formulate a transport policy after consulting all stakeholders, including private bus, taxi, contract carriage and online taxi operators.
John said the problems faced by the private bus sector were not confined to any single issue.
"The industry has been going through a major crisis. The number of operating private buses has declined from around 30,000 to nearly 8,000. There are several reasons for this," he said, adding, "It was during this difficult period that the Priyadarshini scheme was introduced."
According to the minister, both the government and the operators agreed that the Priyadarshini scheme had not affected private buses uniformly across Kerala.
"The scheme is not an issue everywhere. However, in certain regions, it has caused a severe decline in the revenue of private buses. There is absolutely no disagreement between the government and the operators on this point," he said.
John said the meeting discussed several issues, including the impact of the Priyadarshini scheme, the financial sustainability of private bus services, formulation of the Transport Policy, recognition of the private bus sector as an industry, and student concessions.
The discussions covered road tax and permit reforms, implementation of pending transport policy reforms, employment protection and workers' welfare, local infrastructure issues, and the creation of a permanent stakeholder consultation mechanism.
John said another major area of discussion was generating non-ticket revenue for private buses.
He said three potential revenue streams had been identified—parcel services, courier services and advertisements.
"Subject to the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, there is no obstacle to operating courier services. Regarding parcel services, issues such as permissible weight and whether parcels can be carried on bus roofs were discussed. Although it was previously permitted, certain regulations now apply. These aspects will also be examined," he said.
"We will permit advertisements both inside and outside buses. The operators have welcomed this decision," he said.
John recalled that the government had already reduced road tax for private buses by 50 per cent.
"Those who wish to avail themselves of the benefit can now pay the reduced road tax every month instead of once every three months," he said.
He also referred to the government's one-time settlement scheme for pending e-challans.
"We have already announced a 50 per cent one-time settlement for e-challans and provided a three-month window for operators to avail themselves of the benefit. This is a very liberal measure," he said.
The minister said operators had pointed out that bus trip timings fixed decades ago had become unrealistic under present traffic conditions.
To address the issue, the government would introduce an AI-based route planning automation project named 'Kerala Bus'.
Under the project, existing routes would be scientifically rationalised using Artificial Intelligence while identifying new and underserved routes across the state.
He said the Motor Vehicles Department would undertake scientific studies using technologies such as night-time lighting data, luminosity indices and route automation to identify new travel patterns and develop routes accordingly.
John said several other issues raised by the operators, including the restriction preventing private stage carriage buses from operating beyond 140 kilometres, would require discussion.
He said matters relating to vehicle colour and body specifications would take longer to resolve, as they were governed by Central government regulations.
The minister said operators had also complained about difficulties at Regional Transport Offices.
Referring to his recent discussions with Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, John said efforts were underway to improve digital services.
He said the government would adopt a facilitative and accommodating approach towards private bus operators.
"Just as we speak of 'Ease of Doing Business', we must also ensure 'Ease of Running Buses'. Since this is a business that provides an essential public service, we have to create an environment that enables operators to function smoothly," John added.
