The severe financial loss being incurred by KSRTC by operating Kochi Metro feeder services connecting metro stations in the city has forced the authorities to reconsider continuing the service. A final call on cancelling the seven bus services will be taken at a meeting to be convened by district collector NSK Umesh on Friday.
KSRTC authorities are planning to discuss the matter with KMRL at the meeting and convey their proposal to terminate the services. KSRTC operates seven feeder bus services in the city at the request of KMRL, incurring a loss of INR 3,000 to INR 4,000 a bus per day.
The latest feeder service by KSRTC was launched in January this year even after the failure of many such similar services. “The meeting is to put a proposal before KMRL to terminate the service due to huge financial loss, and seek their opinion on it. We will inquire whether KMRL will meet the loss being incurred by us through the service. The Thiru–Kochi services of the corporation were profitable. However, the other feeder services launched in the city failed to generate revenue. Now the corporation is going to operate AC feeder service in the city. Whenever we launch a city service in Kochi, it fails,” said a senior official in the corporation.KSRTC collects a maximum amount of INR 5,000 a day per bus, against the required INR 8,000. According to the KSRTC officials in Ernakulam depot, they have already informed the head office about the recurring loss from the service and their inability to continue with it.
KSRTC had earlier started service to CIAL from Fort Kochi and the service was terminated after two months as there were no takers for it. It currently operates services between Fort Kochi and Vypeen. The air conditioned buses operating from Ernakulam to Alappuzha, Thodupuzha and Palakkad are also running on losses for the past two months. Officials said they would reschedule the services to overcome the loss.
