Kerala's bus network is in structural decline. The availability of bus services in the state fell from one bus for every 910 people in 2000 to one for every 2,807 people in 2023 (CPPR, 2026). Over the same period, private vehicle ownership rose sharply, with the state now recording nearly 425 vehicles per 1,000 people, among the highest in India.

What looks like a lifestyle choice is, in significant measure, a rational response to a failing public transport system.

Against this backdrop, the controversy surrounding private bus operators utilising the All India Tourist Permit (AITP) for passenger services is more than a localised regulatory dispute. It is a symptom of a deeper legislative mismatch between how Indian law categorises passenger transport and how people actually need to move.

A Law Built for Another Era

The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, established two primary permit categories for passenger services: stage carriage permits, for route-based buses collecting fares by distance, and contract carriage permits, for vehicles hired by a person or group to travel to a single destination. This was the era when inter-state travel was limited and intercity mobility was relatively uncomplicated.

Decades later, neither category fits comfortably with modern travel behaviour. Passengers today expect seat reservations even for shorter intercity routes. App-based ticketing systems (now standard for intercity and interstate services) involve individual passenger contracting that the original definition of contract carriage did not anticipate.

Stage carriage permits do not accommodate reservation-based boarding. Contract carriage permits, meanwhile, prohibit picking up passengers from........

© Mathrubhumi English