09-08-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
STA to issue scheduling plan for private stage carriages
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A meeting of State Transport Authority (STA) held in Thiruvananthapuram decided to issue notification regarding scheduling of the private stage carriages to avoid competition and ensure road safety.
The authority discussed fixing a mandatory gap of five minutes between successive private stage carriage buses operating on the same route within municipal areas. In rural areas, the interval will be set at 10 minutes. The meeting also proposed introducing an auction process to resolve situations where multiple applicants seek the same time slot for stage carriage operations.
According to an STA officer, the revised intervals are aimed at easing congestion at bus stops, curbing aggressive driving, and reducing accident risks. The officer added that the notification will be issued soon, under the provisions of Rule 212(1) of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules.
The meeting also reviewed plans to implement a GPS-based geo-fencing and monitoring system across all public transport vehicles.
However, Hamsa Erikunnan, general secretary of the Kerala State Bus Operators Federation, criticised the five-minute gap proposal as impractical. 'As per the current permit the buses cannot keep the 5-minute time gap. The government may implement it when it issues new permits,' he said.
