Bus Day turns black day for KSRTC

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Every year, KSRTC celebrates Bus Day on February 20 to mark the anniversary of the launch of the State Motor Service in 1938. Often, the day passes off without much excitement as there will be hardly any celebrations other than the ones organized by KSRTC employees’ trade unions.
Thursday was the 82nd anniversary, which turned out be a black day with the Avinashi bus accident claiming 19 lives, including two of the KSRTC employees — Gireesh V D and Baiju V R.
The State Motor Service came into existence under Travancore State Transport Department (TSTD) on February 20, 1938 and Sree Chithira Thirunal of Royal Travancore Family inaugurated the service. He along with his kin were the first passengers of the inaugural trip. E G Salter, assistant, operating superintendent of London Passenger Transport Board, who was appointed as superintendent of TSTD, drove the bus. This bus, along with the 33 other buses, were driven through the Kowdiar Square during the inauguration. TSTD became a predominant bus service with interstate connectivity on long distance routes such as Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil, Nagercoil-Kanyakumari and Nagercoil-Colachal.
Later, the department became an autonomous corporation and Kerala State Road Transport Corporation was established on March 3, 1965. On February 20 last year, as part of celebrating the day, some trade unions had organized extensive campaign to improve the revenue by inviting passengers to travel in KSRTC buses.
This year, the day saw condolence meetings being conducted across depots as the corporation lost two of its efficient employees, who were awarded certificate for appreciation.