Thiruvananthapuram: KSRTC MD Tomin J. Thachankary has written to the state government pointing out that the corporation would be able to save Rs 653.24 crore by merging loss-making depots and also by outsourcing the maintenance of buses.
Of the 93 depots in the state, 35 were not making sufficient revenue. The letter suggested that these units can be merged with other depots to convert them into bus stations or operating centres attached to such depots. There would not be much difficulty for the same as these centres were operating less than 50 services. For operating a depot, the KSRTC has to spend Rs 50 lakh per month. On the other hand, an operating centre will need only Rs 8 lakh per month. This would help the KSRTC save Rs 219.24 crore.
Another suggestion was to outsource the maintenance of buses. This would save Rs 434 crore to the KSRTC. At present, the maintenance of buses at KSRTC workshops cost Rs 12.16 per kilometre. One of the private agencies has offered to maintain the buses at a rate of Rs 4 per kilometres. This would mean a reduction in Rs 8.16 per km, said sources.
The letter was written highlighting the recommendations of the Sushil Khanna committee report for restructuring the KSRTC which had also recommended outsourcing of maintenance facilities and merging loss-making units.
