HYDERABAD: The state-owned Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has urged the state government to permit it to collect 50% more than the normal bus fare if bus services resume after May 15 in some districts.
The government is planning to operate buses in green zones with 50% of its capacity. Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had earlier announced that a decision on resuming bus services would be taken at a review meeting on May 15.
Officials in RTC said the corporation has been losing about Rs 15 crore every day due to lockdown. Three months - March, April and May — are crucial for RTC because of marriages, summer holidays and vacations with people moving from one place to another. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, the corporation had lost about Rs 750 crore in the past 50 days. The RTC is not even in a position to pay the salaries to the employees.
The corporation also has a lot of outstanding loans to clear. “ Even if services are not being operated, every month expenditure includes Rs 180 crore on salaries and another Rs 60 crore on maintenance of buses,” a senior official of the RTC said. The corporation, which has already in deep losses, is waiting for a bailout package from the state government, and about Rs 1,000 crore was earmarked in the budget this year. Sources said the hike is for temporary and cannot continue as bus fares were hiked a few months ago.
When contacted, principal secretary of transport department Sunil Sharma, who is also managing director of TSRTC, said the state government has not taken any decision on operating bus services. “A report on losses due to non-operation of services is being prepared and the CM will take a call on resuming the bus services,” the RTC MD said.
The government is planning to operate buses in green zones with 50% of its capacity. Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had earlier announced that a decision on resuming bus services would be taken at a review meeting on May 15.
Officials in RTC said the corporation has been losing about Rs 15 crore every day due to lockdown. Three months - March, April and May — are crucial for RTC because of marriages, summer holidays and vacations with people moving from one place to another. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, the corporation had lost about Rs 750 crore in the past 50 days. The RTC is not even in a position to pay the salaries to the employees.
The corporation also has a lot of outstanding loans to clear. “ Even if services are not being operated, every month expenditure includes Rs 180 crore on salaries and another Rs 60 crore on maintenance of buses,” a senior official of the RTC said. The corporation, which has already in deep losses, is waiting for a bailout package from the state government, and about Rs 1,000 crore was earmarked in the budget this year. Sources said the hike is for temporary and cannot continue as bus fares were hiked a few months ago.
When contacted, principal secretary of transport department Sunil Sharma, who is also managing director of TSRTC, said the state government has not taken any decision on operating bus services. “A report on losses due to non-operation of services is being prepared and the CM will take a call on resuming the bus services,” the RTC MD said.
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