Private bus owners operating stage carriers in the State have decided not to resume services on Tuesday, stating that restricted operations would not be economically viable.
The State government has allowed bus services within districts from Tuesday. However, the Federation of Bus Operators’ Associations of Tamil Nadu on Monday said its members had decided not to resume services until inter-district operations are allowed with full seat occupancy.
The 2,000-odd members of the federation operate about 4,600 stage carriers on mofussil and town routes in the State, except in a few districts like Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur.
Speaking to The Hindu after a virtual meeting of district office-bearers, federation secretary D.R. Dharmaraj appealed to the government to allow inter-district operations as per route permits and with unrestricted seat occupancy. “About 70%-80% of our services are on inter-district routes. Operating within the districts will not be financially viable,” he said.
Private buses on town/city routes too will not hit the road as restricted occupancy will make their operations unviable, Mr. Dharmaraj said.
Though there are still no clear guidelines, operators assume that they will be asked to adhere to the earlier directive of operating with 60% occupancy.
“It is practically not feasible for the crew to restrict or prevent passengers from boarding buses,” he said.
Bus operators say that the lockdown has already pushed them into a crisis and despite not being able to operate buses they have had to pay road tax, salaries to staff and ensure maintenance of the vehicles. “The rise in the price of diesel, which has gone up to nearly ₹80 a litre now, from about ₹65 prior to the lockdown, has also added to the financial burden. Without inter-district operations and full occupancy, we will sustain heavy losses,” said A. Jayagopal, president, Tiruchi District Bus Operators’ Association.
“Even if buses are operated only up to the district borders, commuters will crossover and take connecting services for onward journeys in another district. So just restricting bus services within districts is not going to help check the spread of the virus,” observed a bus operator.
“With most restrictions eased and the e-pass system removed for inter-district travel, we hope the restriction on bus services will also be soon lifted by the government,” Mr. Dharmaraj said.
Private buses were off the roads initially, during the lockdown, from March 25, and resumed services on June 10. They were allowed to operate, with restrictions, for about three weeks, but went off the roads again since June 24 when the government decided to suspend bus services.