Kozhikode: The aggregator licence system has emerged as a major challenge for the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), which is slowly recovering from a financial crisis and making steady progress towards stability. The system enables private operators to run stage carriage-style services without securing a special permit, potentially threatening KSRTC’s long-distance operations.

Under the arrangement, the central government allows operators owning more than 100 luxury vehicles to operate stage carriage-type services without obtaining formal permits. This provision stems from amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act, introduced in 2019, as part of broader efforts to privatise road transport corporations. It effectively allows individuals, groups, and companies to rent contract carriages and operate passenger services in a manner similar to public transport systems.

The move has disrupted long-established patterns of passenger pick-up, drop-off, and fare regulation traditionally overseen by the government. Vehicles with seating capacity exceeding 22 can now operate anywhere without permits. One example is the German-based Flix Passenger Private Service, which launched its Tiruppur–Bengaluru route as its first operation in India.

Initially, fares on this route were set at just Rs 99, posing a serious threat to state-run transport corporations in the region. As a result, the state transport body was forced to suspend its services on the route, while fares for aggregator-licensed vehicles were later raised to Rs 650. The company has since expanded its operations into Kerala.

The entry of aggregator services is expected to intensify competition on KSRTC’s profitable long-distance routes, including Bengaluru–Kochi, Mangalore–Thiruvananthapuram, and Bengaluru–Thiruvananthapuram. Meanwhile, the legality of operating luxury vehicles without an aggregator licence and without permits remains under judicial review.