[5] The corporation is divided into three zones (South, Central and North), and its headquarters is in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

[11][12] The corporation's history dates back to years before the formation of Kerala state, which makes it one of the oldest state-operated public road transport services in India.

Under the supervision of E.G Salter, the then Assistant Operating Superintendent of London Passenger Transport Board, the imported chassis were fitted with Perkins Lynx diesel engines.

The bus bodies were built by department staff, and Travancore Dewan C. P. Ramaswami Iyer insisted on using local wood.

[16][17] Most of the private operators on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanyakumari route had to close when the roads were nationalized, and many experienced drivers, conductors, and inspectors lost their jobs.

Schedules, fares and stops were published, and a parcel service began in which goods could be delivered by designated agents.

[23] The Kerala government issued a notification in 2012 suspending new permits for inter-district buses, exempting the KSRTC.

CPPR research and projects director Madhu Sivaraman conducted a study of KSRTC-private bus options.

Trade Marks registry certified that the emblem, the abbreviation KSRTC, logo and the name Aanavandi[21] shall belong to Kerala Road Transport corporation.

Kerala's claim was approved on 3 June 2021 by the Controller General of Patents Design and Trade Marks under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

On 21 June 2021, KSRTC launched its first LNG bus service from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi for regular passengers.

The first commercial LNG bus service had been launched exclusively for Petronet employees in Kochi earlier.

[26] On 9 November 2021, KSRTC-SWIFT was formed as an independent company to operate the long-distance buses of KSRTC efficiently for a period of 10 years.

[29] Although KSRTC has a dedicated RTO (Regional Transport Officer) to register its fleet, all its buses have bonnet numbers (for internal identification) adjacent to the depot mark at the front of the vehicle.

[30][33] The second part (E in the example) denotes the KSRTC workshop where the body work was done, and is absent on buses purchased fully built and outsourced bodywork.

Buses procured as part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission are numbered JN.

[71][72][73] [74] Apart from these, KSRTC also operates two open top Switch EiV22 electric double decker buses in Thiruvananthapuram for the City tour service.

KSRTC also used one of the original AEC Routemasters in Kochi on a route from Palarivattom to Willingdon Island from the 1960s to the late 1970s.

A court, faced with non-payment by the KSRTC, ordered the seizure of the Kochi double-decker until the debt was paid.

A/C Premium Super Fast Introduced in 2024, this service is operated using 40 seat Tata Marcopolo A/C buses.

[111] KSRTC has 28 depots, 45 sub-depots, 19 operating centres, 28 stationmaster offices, five workshops and three staff-training colleges throughout the state.

[112] In 1995, the corporation established the Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering in Pappanamcode at its central workshop.

KSRTC has 28 station master (SM) offices in Ambalapuzha, Ayoor, Eenchakkal, Ernakulam Jetty, Ettumanoor, Iritty, Kadakkal, Kaliyakkavila, Kuthiyathode, Malayilkeezh, Mundakkayam, Nagarcoil, Ochira, Pattambi, Pothencode, Puthenkurishu, Tirur, Valanchery, Varkala, Vytila Hub, and staff-training colleges in Trivandrum, Ernakulam and Edappal.

[116] Even some incidents have been reported where the passengers request the authority to bring their favourite buses, which was taken to other depots from their existing depots or even requested to stop transferring the favorite bus to SWIFT for operation like Prestigious Changanassery Velankanni Super Express[117][118] KSRTC buses have been featured in many Malayalam movies.

This public transport system has left its mark on our cultural life, including in cinema and literature and it cannot be erased so quickly"; said Antony Raju following the legal battle Kerala won over Karnataka to use the brand KSRTC.