Summer heat 'floors’ bus passengers in Kochi

KOCHI: With the district reeling under sweltering heat, commuters are depending more on low-floor AC buses. With office goers and holidaymakers opting to travel in Volvo AC buses, the KSRTC officials find the season an apt time to make up for the lull period during the rest of the year.
The AC buses, which normally collect just Rs 3.5 lakh a month, are collecting  over Rs 4.5 lakh during the summer season.
KSRTC zonal officer P L Jose said there is a phenomenal increase in the   revenue in summer, especially during April and May. “In the middle of March, our daily collection was Rs 3 lakh from 42 buses. When summer peaked,it has  risen to an average of Rs 4.5 lakh a day. On public holidays, the collection hits Rs 5 lakh,” he said.
But, he said the trend would not last. “The collection will slowly dip by June. However, our collection figures are better than that of Thiruvananthapuram where similar services operate,” the official added. According to the KSRTC officials, it is the services that operate on the Muvattupuzha, Fort Kochi and Angamaly routes that fetch more money.
“There  is a large number of office-goers from Muvattupuzha who use these services. Similarly, the buses which operate on the Nedumbassery-Fort Kochi route makes profit as many tourists opt for AC buses,” officials said.
Many say it is not just the summer heat that attracts the commuters to the AC buses. “I enjoy taking my children in the AC buses,” said Lawrence P, an employee with a private firm here.
However, Ann Mathew, a a software engineer in Kochi, says that she prefers AC buses owing to the unbearable heat. “I am a person who enjoys a bumpy ride in a normal KSRTC bus. But, the summers leave me with no alternative,” she adds.