High-tech Kerala! KSRTC to let AI decide when and where buses should run

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is set to introduce an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered system to determine when and where buses should operate, based on passenger demand. The new technology aims to make bus deployment smarter, more efficient, and responsive to real-time commuter needs.

According to KSRTC officials, the AI software will analyse data such as ticket sales, routes, 4500 schedules, passenger volume, and travel time before recommending how many buses should operate on each route and at what times. This will help the corporation reduce unnecessary trips and ensure that buses are available when and where passengers need them most.

As part of the initial phase, data from the past four years of ticket sales has already been fed into the system. The AI software has also been integrated with the existing Chalo ticketing machines, allowing real-time access to ticket sales data.

The system will study each trip’s details, including departure and arrival times, ticket revenue, and passenger count, to identify high-demand and low-demand periods. Based on this analysis, KSRTC will be able to increase bus services during peak hours and reduce them during off-peak times, improving both efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

In addition, the AI model is expected to prevent clustering of long-distance buses, ensuring that multiple services do not operate too closely together on the same route, which often leads to resource wastage.

KSRTC has already conducted a successful pilot test of the AI-driven scheduling system. Officials said the technology is expected to be fully functional within the next three months.