In a bid to enhance non-ticket revenue, the ailing Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has commenced “KSRTC Logistics” for parcel service.
The modified stage-carriers of the KSRTC will be used by the State transport undertaking for transporting official letters, parcels of government departments, public sector units, constitutional institutions and private entrepreneurs.
The logistics division has been set up to mobilise funds to overcome the fall in the revenue over the last six months due to the low patronage following the pandemic-induced lockdown and to meet the rising fuel bill and spare parts for the stage carriers in the fleet. The courier service launched earlier in KSRTC had failed to take off.
The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) has come forward to utilise the facility offered by the KSRTC. The shipping of the various commodities in the kits being provided to all ration card holders for the next four months in view of COVID-19 will be through KSRTC Logistics.
The Supplyco is hiring five buses from KSRTC for a monthly rent of ₹1.25 lakh. For every extra km used after the initial 2,500 km, the Supplyco has to pay an additional ₹50 per km to the KSRTC.
The KSRTC has plans to ferry question papers and answer sheets of the Kerala Public Service Commission, various universities and the Commissioner for Government Examinations with adequate security and GPS tracking of the vehicles carrying them. Talks are on with the PSC, various universities and Pareeksha Bhavan authorities in this regard, says the Managing Director Biju Prabhakar.
The Kerala Logistics can also carry the letters from the Government Secretariat to the High Court, District Collectorates and other offices in the State. Similarly, the lottery tickets of the Lottery Department can be shipped through the facility to the vendors and agents across the State.
Another proposal is to transport the medicines of the Kerala Medical Service Corporation to the hospitals and official letters of the Kudumbashree Mission and Department of Information and Public Relations to the district level units.
“The aim is to channelise the parcels of all departments through the facility and make the KSRTC Logistics the official parcel service of the Kerala government”, he said. The formal launch of the service will take place this month.