KSRTC’s logistics wonders with Rs 3.73-crore revenue in first year

The cash-strapped public-sector entity’s venture raked in Rs 3.73 crore in revenue in little over a year of operations.

While its passenger division continues to struggle to stick to time schedules, the corporation has managed to fulfil its promise when it comes to delivery of consignments, a key factor that has boosted business.

“We were able to deliver most of the consignments within 16 hours average delivery time is 10 hours. We missed the schedule in only 5% of cases, that too due to unavoidable reasons. Even professional courier agencies utilised the service due to its reliability,” a senior KSRTC official said.

In June, when several parts of the state witnessed heavy rains, the division clocked a revenue of Rs 40.04 lakh. “We launched the courier and parcel service on June 15, 2023. The first six months brought us Rs 1.7 crore in sales. In the year to July 2, we registered a top-line of Rs 2 crore. The highest revenue was recorded in May (Rs 43 lakh).

Ernakulam/Vyttila (which accounts for 40% of total business) and Thiruvananthapuram (30%) lead the list in terms of collection centres with highest revenue,” he said.

The transporter currently has 46 dedicated logistics counters, including in Coimbatore and Nagercoil. “There are plans to open more collection centres outside the state, including in Bengaluru. We’re also planning to expand the initiative by taking the franchise route. Any agency can act as a franchisee on a commission basis. These can be based in taluks or main centres and will enable people from remote locations to avail the facility without any difficulty,” the official added.

The consignments can be anything other than explosives. Under its ‘Bike Express’ initiative, two-wheelers are also being transported between select locations. The minimum charge is Rs 30 for a 25g parcel within 200km.

Meanwhile, the KSRTC has entered into a collaboration with Hilly Aqua, a public sector enterprise under Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation (KIIDC), to provide drinking water to passengers at `15 per bottle.

“The bottled water can be purchased either from courier counters or from inside long-distance buses (super-fast buses). We managed to sell the first lot of 1,400 bottles in just two weeks. We now intend to purchase 10,000 more bottles,” the official said.