Two similar looking Kottayam Private Buses

Ave Maria and St.Thomas, two identical looking private stage carrier buses rest at one corner of the Kottayam private bus stand at Nagampadam. Ave Maria is a part of a fleet of 26 buses all running the Kottayam – Thalayolaparambu – Kanjiramattam – Ernakulam (Vyttila mobility Hub) route, while St.Thomas runs Kottayam – Uzhavoor via Ayarkunnam, Kidangoor, Kadaplamattam and Marangattupilly. The former is a high-frequency route with nearly 100 services a day while the second is a rare single-bus route that has been in existence for more than 50 years. Other buses named CTS, Lekha, Bosco among others have serviced the route over the years. The liveries of the buses are in accordance to government-mandated standard blue for ordinary services and purple for long-distance ones. Kondody Autocraft at Kottayam built both private buses on Ashok Leyland Viking bus chassis. This is why they look similar.