From Tradition To Transition: Reviewing Kerala’s Public Transport Through A Sustainability Lens

Abstract

Kerala’s private bus system continues to serve as the backbone of mobility, providing affordable and widespread access across urban and rural regions, while simultaneously facing deep structural challenges. Despite its centrality, the sector has received limited scholarly attention through a sustainability lens. This article addresses that gap by applying the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to critically examine the sector’s economic, environmental, and social dimensions. Using five indicators—affordability, efficiency, emissions, accessibility, and livelihood the review draws on state transport reports, peer-reviewed research, and comparative cases from India and the wider Global South. Findings demonstrate that historical reliance on private entrepreneurs created a path-dependent hybrid regime, where private buses dominate despite KSRTC’s presence, preserving inclusion but locking the sector into financial precarity and diesel dependence. Regulatory measures on fares, licensing, and safety have ensured affordability and coverage but remain undermined by weak enforcement, fragmented governance, and poor integration with urban mobility and climate commitments. Comparative insights from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Colombo, and Bogotá show that Kerala’s dilemmas echo those of other semi-formal bus regimes: indispensable for access yet resistant to systemic transition. Emerging opportunities digitalization, cooperative financing, and lowemission technologies can support reform, but they face constraints from infrastructure deficits, operator resistance, and institutional mistrust. The article concludes that Kerala’s private buses require systemic, participatory, and culturally embedded reforms to reconcile accessibility and livelihoods with ecological responsibility, positioning them as a critical test case for sustainable mobility in the Global South.