Inside Kerala’s Priyadarshini free travel scheme; Rising passengers, rising pressure on KSRTC staff
Kollam: With the implementation of the Priyadarshini Free Travel Scheme, KSRTC employees are facing a sharp increase in workload. However, conductors are continuing to receive collection allowance even for issuing zero-fare tickets.
Employees who earlier earned around ₹150–₹200 per day are now reportedly receiving allowances of up to ₹300. The collection allowance is calculated based on the fare value of free tickets issued to women passengers.
The allowance is disbursed once every two weeks. However, the payments for the period since the scheme began have not yet been credited to employees’ accounts. As per the system, if total collections exceed ₹14,000, both the driver and conductor receive one per cent each as allowance.
On major chain services such as Kollam–Pathanamthitta routes, daily collections have reportedly risen to around ₹30,000. Buses that earlier required only three ticket rolls per day are now using up to five. Similarly, services that previously issued a maximum of around 750 tickets per day are now handling over 1,400 tickets.
Despite the increase in allowances, employees say they are struggling to manage the significantly higher workload on busy routes.
Women Account for Majority of Passengers
Ten days after the scheme’s introduction, women now account for a major share of passengers on ordinary bus services. Reports indicate that 70–75 per cent of passengers are women, and in many services, three out of four tickets issued are zero-fare tickets. The share is increasing day by day.
Before the scheme was introduced, an average of 7.25 lakh women travelled daily on ordinary services. In the initial days after implementation, this rose to 11.84 lakh. From the third day onwards, women accounted for around 64 per cent of passengers on ordinary buses, rising further to over 70 per cent in recent days.
At the same time, revenue from fast passenger services has reportedly declined by up to 10 per cent, as many women who previously relied on these services for short-distance travel have shifted to ordinary buses.
Parallel Services Discontinued
With the introduction of the Free Travel Scheme, parallel bus services have been discontinued. KSRTC estimates a daily revenue loss of around ₹60 lakh from these services. Parallel services were primarily operating in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Pathanamthitta districts.
Earlier, the Vigilance Department had reported that around 1,200 vehicles were operating as parallel services across the state, with each vehicle earning an average of about ₹5,000 per day.