The Bharatiya Janata Party-controlled Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and the Left Democratic Front-led government on Wednesday hit out at the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) for “inconvenient city commuting” by “illegally” extending the operation of Central Government-funded Smart City project electric buses to mofussil districts.
Thiruvananthapuram Mayor VV Rajesh created a controversy by accusing the KSRTC of breaching the contract. He claimed that the central government (led by the BJP) underwrote the cost of a fleet of 113 electric buses as part of its funding for Smart City projects.
Transport Minister KB Ganesh Kumar said the state government holds a 60% stake in the Smart City funding, which the corporation could not afford to ignore. He added that KSRTC will return the buses to the company’s operational control if the mayor sends a letter to the public utility.
However, Mr Kumar said the corporation would have to find its own parking and operations crew. He noted that the fleet of electric buses was a white elephant that was bleeding KSRTC heavily. In addition, he also promised to replace the fleet with 150 new diesel minibuses that meet current and future emission standards.
High maintenance
“Electric buses have high maintenance costs, low mileage and even lower operating returns. Each bus costs ₹1 million. The batteries will be phased out in 2026. A new battery will cost KSRTC ₹28,000,000 per bus. For this amount, KSRTC could buy dozens of low-maintenance, high-return Kumar diesel minibuses for urban and rural routes.”
Mr. Kumar said that Thiruvananthapuram is an urban continuum with no real rural-urban divide. “Firstly, the corporation limits end at Kazhakuttom. The nearest KSRTC depot is at Kaniyapuram next door. The government cannot ask commuters to come to Kazhakuttom and board the Smart City bus to the city centre,” he said.
Mr. Kumar said that KSRTC was the transport of common people. “We cannot discriminate between passengers whether they are from urban, rural, rich or poor neighborhoods. The LDF government is people-centric,” he said.
Mr. Rajesh said the corporation has no intention of procuring electric buses that are nearing the end of their life from KSRTC. “The corporation has enough space to park hundreds of buses without the help of KSRTC. When the center provides new buses under the Smart City project, the council could discuss contracting private operators to run the city service,” he added.
Published – 31 Dec 2025 21:02 IST
