Why private bus cartels in Kerala operate with impunity and get away with it

Many have rued the fact that though the Kerala Road Transport Corporation (Kerala RTC) has better services, they have very few buses.

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The viral video in which the staff of a private bus operator in Kerala can be seen brutally assaulting three young men has opened a can of worms regarding the private bus lobby in the state. The incident, which was brought to the attention of the media and the public through a Facebook post, has ended up in people pouring out their angst and exasperation against not just Kallada Tours and Travels, but an entire cartel that fleeces the public.

But amidst all the questions and the anger focused on unreasonably expensive ticket rates and frequent delays by these buses, is also a sense of desperation that in the end many are dependent on these buses and their other options are limited. Many have rued the fact that though the Kerala Road Transport Corporation (Kerala RTC) has better services, they have very few buses. With a limited number of trains too running from Kerala to Bengaluru, highly disproportionate to the number of people traveling between the two states, the private bus cartel has only become stronger over the years.

TNM got in touch with MG Rahul, the General Secretary of the Kerala State Transport Employees Union, to find out the reason as to why Kerala RTC are not able to roll out more bus services.

At the moment, the Kerala RTC owns 18 buses, which includes 10 buses from Scania and 8 buses from Volvo. These buses commute daily to destinations like Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. “Running luxury bus services have not been profitable for the Kerala RTC so far,” admits Rahul. "Firstly, it costs around Rs 2 crore to get one luxury bus, be it Scania or Volvo,” he adds.

“Secondly, getting a permit to travel in other states costs a lot. For example, if we take a permit to travel 100 or 200 kilometres inside Tamil Nadu, we should understand that the same privilege is applicable to the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) also,” says Rahul, who goes on to say, “If we travel 100 kilometres or 200 kilometres from the Kerala border into Tamil Nadu, we are likely to not reach anywhere. But if a TN bus travels 200 kilometres into our state, they are likely to cover almost half of the state, which means that they can reach more important locations in Kerala by just paying permit for a few kilometres."

He says that with the Kerala government setting a cap for the Kerala RTC ticket prices, it has become difficult to expand operations. "We can only increase or reduce the amount by 15 %. That does not make any difference in a way. But that is not the case with private bus operators who double their ticket prices during peak seasons and long weekends," he points out.

The normal rate for a Kerala RTC ticket from Kerala to Bengaluru, Hyderabad or Chennai is Rs 1,000 or Rs 1,200 and during peak season, it might go up till Rs 1,400. On the other hand, the normal ticket rate of a private bus ticket can be anywhere around Rs 1,200 - Rs, 1500 and during coveted dates or peak season, it goes to about Rs 3,000.

Diya, a student who travels from Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai frequently, says that the private bus operators are exploiting the large number of middle class and student population who are living in Chennai and Bengaluru. “They take advantage of the fact that we sometimes have no other option but to book tickets in these private buses no matter how expensive they are,” says Diya.

Geo Zajo, a Bengaluru based Chartered Accountant, who is also a native of Thiruvananthapuram, says the reason why he chooses private buses over Kerala RTC is because the time taken by Kerala RTC buses to complete a trip is longer when compared to the private buses.

“RTC buses usually take at least 16 hours to reach Bengaluru from Thiruvananthapuram, whereas the private buses usually won’t take longer than 12 hours. This is because Kerala RTC travels through the entire state of Kerala before it crosses the border whereas private buses usually take the Nagercoil route which is right after Thiruvananthapuram,” says Geo.

Geo also feels that since the number of Kerala RTC buses are limited, the tickets are usually sold out when they're needed the most. “So, when it comes to last minute bookings, people tend to go for private bus services,” he adds.

Lack of train services as well as expensive flight tickets are some of the reasons that allow private bus operators to exploit the passengers, feel many frequent bus travellers like Diya.

According to Rahul, there is also a strong lobby that is playing around to disrupt the Kerala RTC bus services. “The private bus operators have a wide network and contacts. Even if they engage in any illegal activity such as smuggling, which they do, the police or checkpost officials turn a blind eye,” alleges Rahul.

With the public left with no options, it is no wonder that many private bus operators run the business like a fiefdom, and courtesy to the customer is low on their priority list.

Read: Chased us, beat us, threatened to kill us: Kallada Travels’ passengers recount to TNM