Kerala Extends the Tenure of Private Buses to 22 Years
In a welcome move, the state Government of Kerala extends the tenure of private buses to 22 years. Read about it in detail.
Thiruvananthapuram, September 29: In response to demands from private bus organizations, the Kerala government has issued a notification to extend the tenure of private buses to 22 years. This rule is applicable to stage carriage buses only.
This comes as a 2-year extension on the 20-year lifespan of stage carriage buses as directed by the state government in 2019.
This decision, announced by Transport Minister Antony Raju, aims to address the financial challenges faced by private buses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to limited operations during the pandemic, many private buses experienced a financial crisis. To alleviate this, the state government of Kerala extends the tenure of private buses to 22 Years.
The decision follows requests from private bus operator associations, as acknowledged by Minister Antony Raju in a press release.
Around 7,000 private buses currently operate in the state. Earlier this year, the KSRTC also extended the lifespan of its buses beyond the standard 15 years, citing fleet depletion as a factor.
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Kerala Extended Tenure of Private Buses from 15 to 20 years in 2019
In March 2019, the state government had already extended the lifespan of private stage carriers from 15 to 20 years in response to representations from private bus operator associations.
Furthermore, the government has decided to amend rule 260A of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules to extend the lifespan of stage carriages by 5 years.
This decision is in line with the implementation of the body code, the draft vehicle scrapping policy of the Centre, and the time required for replacing old buses with new electric/CNG/LNG buses, as per the government’s objective to promote electric vehicles.
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The Explanatory note of the 2019 notification said the following:
“Several representations from Private Bus Operators Associations in the State have been received for increasing the life span of the stage carriage from 15 years to 20 years. Considering the various amendments in the Canal Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, implementation of bus body code, the draft Vehicle Scrapping Policy of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, New Delhi, the time needed for replacing old buses by purchasing news Electric/CNG/LNG buses as per the approved Electric Vehicle Policy, the Government have decided to amend rule 360 A of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 to extend the lifespan of stage carriages from 15 to 20 years.”
“It has also been decided to permit stage carriages to operate in the cities of Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode Districts for a period of the next five years only, and after that they should be converted into vehicles powered by Electricity, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) or Liquified Natural Gas (LNG).”
