Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), the state-owned road transportation company in Karnataka is known for its forward-looking approach, running high-end buses. KSRTC, in its 55th year of operations, stands best among the State Transport Undertakings (STUs) in the country. The company has 8,010 buses with a workforce of 36,367, serving 25.56 lakh passengers, covering 26.26 lakh km per day and spreading across seven neighboring states and earning an average daily revenue of Rs. 8.32 crores.
We spoke to Mr. Rajender Kumar Kataria, KSRTC Managing Director, to know more about his company’s targets and top priorities. Says Mr. Kataria: “Continuous improvements with innovations and initiatives in various fields such as information technology, fleet modernization, branding, cost minimization, revenue mobilization measures, strengthening of infrastructure, transparent HR policies, environmental initiatives, improvement in systems and processes has paid off well, with KSRTC being recognized in several forums with 129 National and International Awards. KSRTC is the only State Road Transport Undertaking in India which has won the Award of Excellence by Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India for the 6th time in a row.”
Roads always stand a testimony to a revolution, bringing change to make lives of people simpler, safer and more comfortable. To meet its vision and to reach the set targets, KSRTC is focusing on inducting world-class services, introducing more city services in towns and cities to encourage adoption of public transport, usage of alternate fuels, introduction of new services and identifying niche market, generating other source of revenue other than ticket selling, extensive usage of IT in administration and operational areas.
In line with its commitment to preserve the environment, KSRTC plans to use bio-diesel (B20) in 16 depots in around 1700 buses. “Increase in fuel performance and reduction in cost are among our top priorities. Other focus areas include cost control on variable parameters, improving maintenance efficiency, control on vehicle breakdowns and public complaints, switching over from petro-diesel to bio-diesel, thereby reducing air pollution, control over the vehicle off-roads and achieving optimum efficiency”, adds Mr. Kataria.
KSRTC plans to extend its interstate services to Kerala, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Its new services to Telangana will be commissioned once the agreement with the newly-formed State is finalized.