Over 65% of KSRTC Buses Operate Without Insurance, RTI Reveals
KSRCTC Buses are at the centre of an insurance concern after an RTI revealed that over 65% of the fleet operates without insurance.
KSRCTC Buses face a major insurance gap, with over 65% of the fleet reportedly operating without insurance, an RTI reveals.
KSRTC Buses: A private car or truck in Kerala without valid insurance risks a fine and possibly a police case. The state’s own transport corporation appears to operate under a different set of circumstances. A reply under the Right to Information (RTI) Act shows that most of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation’s (KSRTC) roadworthy fleet has no insurance cover.
Of 5,047 service-worthy buses, only 1,890 are insured, the corporation said in its reply. The RTI document puts the total number of buses available under KSRTC at 5,765. Measured against that total, the uninsured share is about 67%. Measured against the 5,047 service-worthy buses alone, it is about 63%.
The information was released to activist Raju Vazhakkala. It covers the operational status and fleet figures of KSRTC and its long-distance arm, KSRTC-Swift.
KSRTC Buses: What the RTI reply says about the fleet
The reply states that 718 buses were docked as of August 20 this year. They were at depots and workshops for fitness certificate work, repairs, and maintenance of buses damaged in accidents. Subtracting those 718 from the 5,765 total gives the 5,047 service-worthy buses.
The latest figures are close to those made public in June 2025. At that time, insurance was said to cover only about 1,900 vehicles, including all 444 Swift buses, against a daily fleet of 4,000 to 4,500 buses. Management cited the high cost of premiums.
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KSRTC Buses – The insurance rule and the exemption
Section 146 of the Motor Vehicles Act bars the use of a motor vehicle in a public place without valid third-party insurance. Under Section 196, a first offence can draw up to three months’ imprisonment, a fine of ₹2,000, or both. A repeat offence can draw a fine of ₹4,000, imprisonment, or both.
The Act also carves out an exception. Section 146(3) allows the government to exempt vehicles owned by certain bodies, including state transport undertakings. The condition is that the body establishes and maintains a fund in the prescribed manner. KSRTC has previously been reported to rely on this provision, and to remain liable for court-ordered compensation when uninsured buses are involved in accidents.
The RTI reply does not say whether KSRTC’s uninsured buses are covered by such an exemption or by a fund.
KSRTC Buses: Questions on older buses remain unanswered
KSRTC declined to share the number of buses more than 15 years old. It said such information is not compiled or maintained separately. Under the central government’s vehicle scrappage policy, transport vehicles older than 15 years are to be scrapped. Kerala has extended that limit to 20 years for transport vehicles.
Senior KSRTC officials could not be reached for comment at the time of writing.
