kerala student travel concession

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KSRTC stops concession for students whose parents pay income tax or draw pension

The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has decided to not provide concessions to students whose parents have a taxable income or draw a government pension.

Students above 25 and those pursuing regular courses that are not bound by an age limit will not receive the students' concession on KSRTC buses hereafter.

The KSRTC used to provide free travel for students till plus-two and concession rates applied for all other students.

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However, the KSRTC has said it is forced to discontinue concession and certain other benefits due to financial constraints.

"The corporation has a financial liability of Rs 966.31 from providing concessions and other benefits between 2016 and 2020," a KSRTC release said.

Discounted travel rates Students in self-financing colleges and private unaided and recognised schools will not have regular concession benefits.

Instead, they will be given a 30% discount on the ticket. "The students will have to give 35% of the ticket rate, and the remaining 35% will be charged to the school management," the KSRTC said.

Who will get the existing concession? Students in government/aided schools, special schools, and institutions of specially-abled and career-oriented courses will continue to get the existing concession.

Concession will also be given to students in government colleges/affiliated colleges and government/affiliated professional colleges provided their parents do not draw a taxable income.

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Reanalysing the Student Concession in Kerala

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വിദ്യാർത്ഥി കൺസെഷൻ നൽകാം ബസുടമകളെ സമ്മർദ്ദത്തിലാക്കാതെ

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The development model of Kerala emphasises a welfare state, however, there is a lack of adequate documentation recognising the participation of private players in the welfare and development of the State. The public transport sector of Kerala has turned a blind eye to the burden of student concession on the private players in the field. In Kerala, the concessional fare for students was introduced back in 1963 to provide a nudge to the students who would otherwise not be able to access schools due to the physical distance and the existence of very few educational institutions. The private operators offered the subsidised fare to the students and bore the brunt of welfare, not the state government. There has been neither any reimbursement nor any tax concession towards meeting this expenditure to help the private operators from the government side even after so for many decades.  While the state budget for 2023 promised a 10% tax reduction to the operators, it remains inadequate to address the losses from the concession. 

The concessional rate fixed by the state is 20% of the regular ticket fare for the students commuting for educational purposes. While this has proved to help students from an economically weaker section, the lack of revision of these fares has led to a loss in services. This move disincentivises the private players rather than letting them coexist with the state operators. Due to noncompetitive environment in the sector, the number of buses operated by the private players had come down from 32000 to 12000 in the recent years. The pressure to adhere to these norms has made the private players hesitant to allow students on the bus. During peak hours, 50% or more of the passengers are students, which leads to a considerable loss to the bus operators and the regular commuters do not get sufficient space to board the bus as it is filled with students. This has also resulted in agitated behaviour by the conductors of the private buses towards the students. Today, these concession fares are also being exploited by students who use them for travel purposes other than commuting towards their educational institutions, the brunt of which is faced by private operators. 

The demography of Kerala has significantly changed since the concessional fare was introduced due to the rapid urbanisation and growth of the middle-class population.  Back in 1963, the population who benefited from the concessional fare was almost the same who were cross-subsidized to balance the loss of revenue of the private operators as they were heavily dependent on public transport. However today nearly one in four families in the state has a car and the state has around 95 lakh motorcycles registered now. That says the poorer people of the society continue to be cross-subsidized and shoulder the cost of the welfare scheme with the private operators for the travel of students who belong to higher socio-economic backgrounds. The state has also witnessed the mushrooming of private as well as public schools in the neighbourhoods where most parents prefer to choose access and quality of education over affordability.  The shift in the socio-economic changes in society demands a revisit to the old policy of concessional fare to students and reanalyse who should be the beneficiary of the scheme and who should pay the cost. 

The inclusive Kerala model has a significant contribution from the private players in various sectors but these services are not acknowledged and documented in the literature.  Student concession is a good example as it is the private operators who shared the brunt of the burden of subsidising students’ travel costs for many decades and not the state. Proper documentation of the losses would give a truer picture which will acknowledge the role of private bus operators in the welfare system and identify the inadvertent consequences of such a measure on the general public, private bus operators and the entrepreneurial climate of the state. The current policy needs to be revisited and revamped in such a way that the actual beneficiaries of this welfare scheme are identified and suggest alternative mechanisms to support the scheme without burdening the private entities. 

This article was first published on Kerala Kaumudi (16-08-2023)

Views expressed by the author are personal and need not reflect or represent the views of the Centre for Public Policy Research.

Anisree Suresh

Anisree Suresh is a Senior Associate, at Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR). She completed her M.A in International Studies from the School of International and Area Studies, Goa University. She has done a couple of research internships at reputed research institutions of IR. Her master’s dissertation was on BIMSTEC and Indo-Pacific and published a research paper on the same. Her research interests pertain to security studies, South Asia, Indo-Pacific, IR theory and gender.

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KSRTC bus concession: Students facing hurdles to renew card

22 september 2022, 09:24 am ist.

Representative image | Photo: Mathrubhumi

Thiruvananthapuram: The complex procedures in renewing KSRTC bus concession have put students in a tough spot. KSRTC has declared that a student who applies to renew the concession card must obtain a certificate from the head of the institution declaring that he or she is continuing studies at the institution.

The students' travel concession card is issued by KSRTC for three months. When the card expires, the head of the institution must issue a certificate. In the semester system, students have to obtain a new card for each semester.

If the course is not completed within the mentioned period, students will not get concession card renewed. The head of the institution should issue a letter giving an explanation for the extension of the course period. Students who are studying for degree, post-graduate or technical courses are facing trouble in renewing the travel concession card.

Only a fee for card distribution is collected from the student.

At present, out of 5 lakh students who obtained travel concession card, the majority are having free rides on the buses. Only 15 percent of the ticket fare is collected from others.

KSRTC has been issuing concession cards to students in government, aided, self-financing and technical educational institutions. Students who are studying at private centres by paying lakhs as fee are also availing free journeys on KSRTC buses. KSRTC authority informed that strict rules are followed in issuing students travel concession cards with an aim to check misuse.

Concession card application to switch to online mode

KSRTC has taken action to receive the applications for the students’ bus concession through online platform. The virtual system will be implemented with the cooperation of the National Informatics Centre. But KSRTC didn’t take any measures to confirm the authenticity of the documents uploaded by the students.

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KSRTC sets 25 as upper age limit for students’ concession in bid to cut losses

The kerala state rtc has also made a slew of changes including limiting the concession tickets only to bpl students in private-unaided and self-financing educational institutions..

• No concession to self financing college students if parents pay income tax, ITC
• Self financing college students get a 30 % discount if they share a percentage of ticket charge.
• Government, quasi-government, special school students can continue to enjoy concessions.

As part of multiple attempts to revive an ailing Kerala State Road Transport Corporation ( KSRTC ), the public transporter has capped the upper age for allotting concession tickets to students at 25. It has also made a slew of changes including limiting the concession tickets for students in private-unaided and self-financing educational institutions only to BPL category.

KSRTC, in the order issued on Monday, said that it has a liability of Rs 966.31 crore in terms of students’ concession during the period 2016-2020. Though the KSRTC has sent letters to the government to allot the amount, it hasn’t approved so far. Currently, KSRTC is providing free tickets to students till Class XII and concession for other category students.

As per the latest order, concessions will continue for students in government, quasi-government schools, special schools, vocational institutions for special children etc. However, students in government, quasi government colleges and professional colleges whose parents pay income tax, ITC (Input tax credit, GST) etc will not be eligible for concession.

The KSRTC will provide concession cards with 30 percent discount for students in self-financing colleges and private unaided and recognised schools if the students and school management bear 35 percent each of the ticket charge.

Transport Minister Antony Raju said that students need not feel concerned over the changes. “Those who draw pensions too are enjoying the benefits of concessions. A major change is introduced only in this aspect,” he said.  Kerala Students Union and Students Federation of India – Kerala, have come out with statements against the move. KSU said that the student concession was their right while SFI asked KSRTC management to withdraw the decision.

As the KSRTC introduced restrictions in concession, the private bus operators too have approached the government for similar regulations. They have also called for strike if their demands are not met before April 1, said the private bus operators association.

Student concession: Suggestions of govt-appointed committee drag

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: State-run KSRTC  has decided to go ahead with the plans to restrict student travel concession overlooking a government-appointed committee that has been constituted to make recommendations on the subject. The recommendations of the three-member committee headed by the planning commission member K Ravi Raman is likely to be delayed by a couple of months,even as its term ended on February 28.

The private bus operators who have been waiting for the recommendation to decide on their action plan will visit Transport Minister Antony Raju to express their concerns, on Thursday. 

“It is unacceptable that the government allowed KSRTC to make a unilateral decision while we have been asked to wait till the committee completes the study. We will inform the minister that we will be forced to go on strike if there is no hike in student concession after April 1,” said the general convener of Kerala State Private Bus Operators Federation (KSPBOF), T Gopinathan.  

The KSRTC management said the travel concession caused a financial burden of Rs 966.31 crore from 2016 to 2020. KSRTC gives student travel concessions only in its ordinary bus service.

The private bus operators pointed out that if KSRTC made a loss of Rs 966 crore for carrying students in 1500 ordinary buses between 2016 and 2020, the 12,000 private buses made a loss of Rs 8000 crore during the period. The student concession was last fixed at Rs 2 in 2012. The private bus operators are worried that the loss will be more in the coming days as the entire burden of carrying students will be on them after the KSRTC decided to restrict the student travel concession. 

“It is only natural that the students will choose private bus over KSRTC when there is a restriction,” said former Director of National Transportation Planning & Research Centre (NATPAC), and a member of the government-appointed committee to study student concession, BG Sreedevi.

She said the committee plans to provide a solution by upholding the interests of the students and the bus operators. Kerala State Private Bus Operators Federation (KSPBOF), the umbrella organization of bus operators in the state, has been demanding a student fare hike since March 24, 2021. They demanded that the minimum concession fare should be fixed at Rs 6. Justice M Ramachandran Commission, a single-man commission tasked to find ways to address the problems in the sector, also recommended the concession rate to be fixed at Rs 5. However, the government decided to postpone the decision even when the general fare was increased in May last year. 

The private bus operators wanted the student concession rates to be increased because they think raising the general bus fare beyond a limit would further alienate passengers. They pointed out that people have already switched to alternative arrangements for travelling since the Covid lockdown period.

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Kerala: Students upto Class 12 can travel in private buses without concession card; Read details

P alakkad: Concession cards will be required for school-college students riding KSRTC buses starting on July 1 according to the Regional Transport Office's (RTO) announcement made at the Palakkad Students' Facility Committee meeting. However, concession cards are not necessary for private buses, according to the RTO, as students up to Plus Two wear uniforms. 

Additionally, it has been made known that students may take private buses for a distance of up to 40 kilometres by paying the reduced fare set by the government.

The meeting was held under the leadership of District Collector Dr S Chithra to discuss the distribution of bus travel concession cards for students in the district, travel difficulties, etc. 

Regional Transport Officer TM Jerson informed that the concession card for the academic year 2023-24 will be yellow in colour. Heads of all educational institutions including government, aided, affiliated and government-recognized schools and colleges should ensure that the concession card is issued in yellow colour. He also directed that the head of the institution should take the initiative to get the concession card by preparing the list of students in the institution in the prescribed format and presenting it before the JRTO of the respective taluk.

Bus operators will have a chance to check concession cards supplied by private organizations. The daily maximum one-way trip is 40 kilometres. The RTO encouraged the students to be careful not to lose their concession card and to always have it with them. According to the RTO, students up to the Plus Two level who travel on the KSRTC bus on a concession receive free transportation. The District Collector stated that students are permitted to make two journeys per day and that a concession must be provided for such travels. The concession cards will be supplied following legal verification.

A meeting of bus owners and students will be held every three months.

According to the District Collector, there shouldn't be any complaints from the district about students being treated unfairly, misbehaving with them, being made to pay the full amount of bus fares, etc. The collector stated that if the student organizations and institutions come openly, a system can be established to write information about the concession charge at the bus stop, college premises, and significant locations in coordination with the RTO.

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Leave Travel Concession (LTC)

• Leave Travel Concession Introduced to State Govt Employees vide Order No 713/2012/Fin Dated 31/12/2012.
• Applicable to State Govt Employees, staff of aided schools and aided colleges, Full time Contingent Employees, Local Bodies, etc.
• LTC not applicable to Part Time Contingent Employees, Daily Wages, Contract Employees
• Applicable to all Family Members which includes employee's wife/husband and their surviving unmarried children/step children or legally adopted children wholly dependent upon the employee and the same has to be recorded in the service book.
• LTC limited to the fare by the shortest direct route calculated on a through ticket fare, irrespective of the fact whether the journey was performed by shortest or any other route.
• Admissible only once during the entire service after the completion of 15 years of regular continous service.
• Admissible for a maximum period of 15 days including holidays.
• The period of absence on account of availing Leave Travel Concession shall be regularised by granting earned leave, half pay leave, commuted leave or leave without allowance under Rule 88, Part l, KSRs.
• LTC not admissible during Casual Leave, Special Casual leave and Maternity Leave
• Teachers of Schoots andColleges witl be allowed LTC on vacation..
• LTC shall be admissibte during leave preparatory to retirement.
• Original train tickets/bus tickets/air tickets etc shoutd be produced with the claims.
• LTC limited to a maximum 6500 KM (Combined distance of to and fro journeys to the destination)
• Maximum allowable air rate for LTC shall not exceed Rs.10000/- upto an aerial distance of 2500 KM
• Places of visit to be declared in advance.
• Incidental Expenses and DA on Hault will not be admissible. Only to and fro fare admissible.
• Advance for LTC may be sanctioned upto 90% of Estimated fare.
• LTC final bill should be preferred within one month of the completion of return journey.
• If the journey not commenced within 30 days from the drawal of advance, the entire advance should be recovered with 18% interest.
• When no advance is drawn, reimbursement of LTC claim stands forefeited, if the claim not preferred within three month of the date of completion of return journey.
• The Controlling Officers should maintain a register of LTC claims and advance registers.

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Leave Travel Concession to Govt Employees - Order Dated 31-12-2012 HOT  

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KSRTC urges govt to stop free travel for students

23 december 2016, 02:20 pm ist, the free travel facility was introduced for students up to 12th standard when thiruvanchoor radhakrishnan was the transport minister.

Thiruvananthapuram: Citing huge revenue loss, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Friday demanded roll back of the free travel facility for students in its buses.

In a letter to the Transport Secretary, KSRTC Managing Director informed that the travel concession is causing a revenue loss of Rs 42 lakh. The official also pointed out that this leading to a reduction of 1.5 lakh passengers per day.

The free travel facility was introduced for students up to 12th standard when Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan was the Transport Minister.

The KSRTC also demanded that the private bus services should be limited to 140 kilometres and they should not be given super class permit.

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Mahir Haneef has been covering the High Court of Kerala since 2011.

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