Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru (MS)

Bengaluru, Oct 22: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) incurs an annual loss of Rs 100 crore due to accidents and related issues, according to KSRTC managing director Anbu Kumar.

KSRTC is looking to emulate the accident-prevention measures of companies like HPCL and BPCL, which manage 24,000 trucks with fewer accidents, while KSRTC operates 8,000 buses daily and records an average of one accident per day, some of which are fatal.

"KSRTC loses Rs 100 crore annually due to accidents and associated costs such as compensation to victims, medical expenses, and repair of damaged buses," said Anbu Kumar in a media interaction.

Anbu Kumar recently visited HPCL and BPCL to gain insights into their accident prevention strategies. "We already have measures in place to prevent accidents, but we aim to learn from HPCL and BPCL to reduce accident rates. We intend to implement similar strategies in KSRTC," he added.

In the 2022-23 period, KSRTC recorded 770 accidents, with 231 of them involving fatalities. There were 89 major accidents and 450 minor ones, resulting in 1,323 injuries. In 2021-22, 494 accidents were reported, including 153 fatalities, 55 major accidents, and 286 minor accidents, with 656 people injured.

KSRTC is planning to invite experts from oil corporations to help improve its operations and reduce accidents.