Kerala’s once-prosperous and mighty “Red Elephant” (aanavandi) is all but skin and bones today, but nursing it back to health is not Mangalyaan-science as explained in the previous chapter. However, there is a much deeper reason behind KSRTC’s present crisis than simple financial travails. Without fixing that, any kind of solution implemented will only be temporary. In the last…
The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has a long and illustrious history that precedes even the state of Kerala or India. It starts in 1937 when the Travancore State Transport Department was constituted by HH Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the Maharaja of Travancore. The first buses were imported from England. Post independence the TSTD was incorporated as an…
The average front-engined bus in India is just a truck with seats mounted in its back and a roof over them as bus operators just buy truck chassis and build bus bodies on them. These are not just horribly inefficient but also uncomfortable and back-breaking. Almost everywhere in the world buses are always back-engined and operators buy real buses and…
A Shatabdi Express from Thiruvananthapuram to Bangalore? That will not happen in this Universe, where for various reasons known to everyone, the hallowed populace of Malluland has the distinction of being always ignored and at the receiving end of the stick of everything. But in terms of providing neglect to them, no institution comes close…
Any Indian worth his travel bag will swear that traveling in India is a huge fail whale. Airports are located in areas where just getting there is a half day’s job. Trains are overbooked, chaotic, slow and of course, late. Buses run when they want to, and usually seem to all places except where you want to go to. Want to…