Goa’s Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) will raise the subsidy on monthly bus passes from 10% to 20% and introduce a 30% subsidy for annual passes from November 1, chief minister Pramod Sawant announced at the corporation’s 46th anniversary celebration in Panaji.
The revised system will also change how pass validity is calculated. Instead of counting a monthly pass from the first day of one month to the first day of the next, KTC will count 30 punched days. Annual passes will be valid for 365 punched days, Sawant said.
The change is intended to address commuter complaints that several days of a monthly pass can go unused when validity is tied to fixed calendar dates. “Commuters usually claim that sometimes eight to ten days would go unused in a month,” Sawant said, adding that the validity of each card should be counted based on the number of punches.
The chief minister said an advance card-booking system would be made available across bus stands in Goa. He urged commuters to use the facility and said the revised arrangement would allow passengers to obtain the benefit of the full pass period rather than lose days because of the date on which the pass was purchased.
The announcement comes as the state continues to position KTC as a public service rather than a profit-making transport operator. Transport minister Mauvin Godinho said the corporation had not increased bus fares despite rising fuel prices because KTC was not run for profit.
Sawant also said the government’s Mhaji Bus scheme was intended to bring KTC services on a par with private bus operators. He said KTC was not in competition with private buses and appealed to commuters to join the scheme as the government sought to provide better services.
At the anniversary event, Sawant praised KTC drivers for their discipline and cleanliness standards. He claimed that almost 99.9% of drivers were sober and responsible while driving and said interstate commuters preferred Kadamba buses over Belgaum buses because KTC vehicles were kept clean. These comments were made as part of the corporation’s anniversary programme.
KTC chairperson Ulhas Tuenkar said at least 150 buses would be scrapped in 2027 under the 15-year vehicle policy. The planned fleet reduction will be a future operational milestone for the corporation as it manages its bus network and vehicle replacement requirements.
The immediate changes announced by the government are the higher monthly and annual subsidies, punch-based validity of 30 and 365 days, and expansion of advance card booking across Goa’s bus stands. The revised pass benefits are scheduled to begin on November 1.
