Rising income offers KTCL a chance to fix safety gaps and bolster commuter confidence
The Kadamba Transport Corporation Ltd can claim a good year. Income has risen from Rs 195.32 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 333.01 crore in 2025-26, and the unaudited accounts show a surplus of Rs 17.30 crore against a deficit of Rs 1.33 crore four years ago. For a public operator that has kept fares unchanged for seven years, this is no small feat.
There are however challenges that face the corporation—accidents and rate per lakh effective kilometres, which nearly doubled, from 0.15 to 0.29. Accidents involving KTCL buses went from 28 in 2021-22 to 74 in 2025-26, after hovering between 37 and 46 in the three years before. Last year’s toll was two fatal, 20 major and 52 minor accidents, and four people died. A corporation that carries the state’s commuters, including schoolchildren, cannot treat those numbers lightly. KTCL must find out why. The inquiry should look at accident-prone routes, driver training and fatigue, and the condition of the vehicles involved, and the figures should be put in the public domain. The corporation employs 1,975 people, 1,525 of them drivers and conductors, and runs 649 buses. It has the scale to track every incident by depot and driver. It has yet to show that it does.
The corporation’s mechanical performance records show that the number of reported breakdowns increased from 695 in 2021-22 to 834 in 2025-26. The figure had declined to 682 in 2023-24 before rising to 808 in 2024-25. The rate per 10,000 kilometres did improve, from 0.38 to 0.33, which suggests the fleet is covering more distance, but a commuter stranded on the road does not care about the ratio. Depot-wise breakdown targets, stronger preventive maintenance and shorter waits in the workshop would help. An honest audit of ageing buses to decide which are worth repairing and which are not would also help.
Costs deserve the same scrutiny. Operating expenses more than doubled between 2022-23 and 2025-26, from Rs 48.99 crore to Rs 108.46 crore. Diesel now costs KTCL Rs 84.41 a litre, up from Rs 55.06 in 2013-14. The mileage data shows that their buses are covering 3.97 kilometres a litre against 4.06 in 2021-22. The 123 electric buses in the fleet should ease the burden, and KTCL should tell the public what they save in fuel and upkeep compared with its 526 diesel ones. Fares can stay frozen only if the corporation finds savings inside its own operations.
The corporation could look elsewhere to raise supplementary funds. Bus stand income has climbed from Rs 5.13 crore to Rs 7.14 crore in three years, but unevenly. Seven of the 16 stands earned less last year, with Canacona slipping from about Rs 35.81 lakh to Rs 27.71 lakh. Honda, Curchorem and Assonara also recorded declines, while Mapusa rose from Rs 1.11 crore to Rs 1.26 crore and Valpoi from Rs 17.67 lakh to Rs 26.34 lakh. Open tendering, digital collection and routine audits would show whether the shortfall comes from weak management or leakage.
Some of KTCL’s costs are not its fault. Concessional passes, school services, festival trips and loss-making rural routes are part of its public duty. The government should fund them through a clear account, so that the public can see what service costs and what is subsidised. KTCL, for its part, should publish fleet availability, trips scheduled and completed, cancellations, breakdowns, accidents and revenue per kilometre on a regular basis.
KTCL’s rising income and reported surplus provide an opportunity to improve services. The priority must now be to ensure that financial progress translates into reliable buses, safer journeys, better fuel efficiency and dependable public transport for commuters.
