Kerala: KSRTC launches relay service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As Covid restrictions have limited KSRTC services to just neighbouring districts, it has launched relay service to link various districts. The service was inaugurated by transport minister A K Saseendran at Thiruvananthapuram Central bus station on Friday.
Catering to the demands of passengers, received by KSRTC officials and posts on its social media page, KSRTC started the relay service between Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur. The new service will be operated from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur. A passenger – who boards the bus from the capital – will have a connecting bus awaiting in Kollam to next the destination. Super deluxe buses will be used for the service. Saseendran spoke about the services provided by KSRTC to health workers and how it ferried migrant labourers to railway stations. “Government is indebted to two KSRTC staff, who contracted the disease during service. KSRTC is introducing a new model when few trains are operating in state now. Regular disinfection of buses must be done to ensure the safety of employees,” he said.
There will be a bus on the route at one-hour intervals from 5am and the trip will end by 9pm. KSRTC claims that a passenger boarding a bus from Thiruvananthapuram can reach Thrissur in six hours via relay service. As bus service must be stopped by 9pm, the schedules are planned in such a way that buses will be operated to Thrissur till noon and services will end at Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Kollam. The buses will be disinfected at regular intervals. Advance ticket booking facility is available for these buses.
“There was demand from inter-district travellers. We cannot operate long-distance services due to Covid protocol. So, we took government’s permission to operate the relay service,” said KSRTC MD Biju Prabhakar.