Kollam: Facing a steep decline in ticket revenues despite a massive surge in passenger traffic, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is preparing to launch a lucky draw scheme on ad-printed bus tickets to boost earnings.

Initial discussions are currently underway within the corporation to implement the initiative. KSRTC operates nearly 5,000 buses daily, catering to approximately 2.1 million passengers.

Rising footfall, falling revenues

Since the launch of the ‘Priyadarshini’ Scheme on June 15, female passenger numbers have risen by 30 to 50 per cent. However, the provision of free travel has drastically hit ticket sales and corporate revenue. In an effort to offset these mounting financial losses, KSRTC plans to monetise space on its printed tickets.

KSRTC consumes 2.76 million paper rolls annually for issuing tickets, averaging around 230,000 rolls per month. Each paper roll can generate roughly 230 tickets.

Rethinking Ad strategy following tender failure

The corporation previously floated a tender seeking advertising and marketing agencies to print commercial ads (measuring 5.9 cm by 5.5 cm) on one side of the ticket rolls.

Under the proposed plan

  • Licensed agencies would submit approved artwork directly to paper roll suppliers.
  • Advertising firms would cover all printing costs and pay a monthly license fee based on the ad size.
  • Advertisements were strictly required to comply with legal standards and not run counter to government or public interests.

However, the initial tender found no takers due to unviable terms. Critics noted that passengers typically discard tickets immediately after completing their journey, offering minimal visibility for advertisers.

To solve this, KSRTC is now redesigning the framework to encourage passengers to retain their tickets longer through a lucky draw prize system, alongside offering more attractive terms to advertising agencies.