A P Joshi, managing director of the state-run corporation said that traffic revenue touched a record Rs 1000 crore on January 4, bettering its own performance of Rs 1174 crore last February. “We hope to achieve Rs 1300 crore by the end of this financial (March 2008). With an existing fleet of 6500 buses, we are embarking on a expansion plan to induct 1630 buses the end of this year,” he said.
With a fleet with average age of just three years and nine months, KSRTC buses cover approximately 2.2 to 2.18 million kms/day, covering both inter and intra-state destinations. “We had added 1263 vehicles to our fleet during the last financial. Orders have also been placed to take the number of volvo buses to 200 plus from 18, and adding 30 ‘Sheetal’ air-conditioned buses to Mysore. We will phase out about 800 old buses this year. Electronic Ticketing Machines that are RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) enabled to issue ‘Smart Card’- based student passes have been introduced at the Kolar, Chikmagalur and Mysore Urban divisions,” Mr Joshi added.
The corporation is also going in for a massive infrastructure restructuring proposal by constructing seven modern bus stations in Mysore, at a cost of Rs 85 crore each, under the JNNURM, with an equity stake of 80 percent from the Centre and 10 percent from the State government.
The corporation recently bagged the EMPI-IE award for innovation, the first public sector organisation to do so, and received a legislators’ team from West Bengal and Sikkim to study its achievements as a profit-making PSU.

TRANSIT CENTRE

Construction of the Inter-Modal Transit Centre (IMTC) at the Kempegowda Bus Terminus in Majestic is expected to begin in April 2008 at an estimated cost of Rs 1000 crore. “We had requested the BDA for a change in land use regulation after the revised masterplan for the City came into force. The BDA has approved it. Once the government gives its nod, we will issue financial tender bids seeking proposals,” Mr Joshi said. The KSRTC had received designs from five consortia early last year.