BENGALURU: Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has so far received 257 awards, the highest among state transport undertakings (STUs) in the country.
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), which is the city’s lifeline, has bagged 113.
The awards have been conferred for reasons like maximum improvement in mileage, minimum operational costs, oil conservation, road safety, lowest accident rate, Intelligent Transport System, vehicle-tracking system and low-floor buses.
However, the pandemic has dealt a mighty blow to STUs in Karnataka, and experts say the state government should provide long-term monetary support to them.
Many regular passengers say BMTC and KSRTC provide quality services compared to utilities in other states.
“They have set a benchmark for public transport operators. In fact, KSRTC gives private operators a run for their money on inter-city routes and several passengers, including women are its regular users. Their employees are not into rash driving and are customer friendly. Sadly, this strike has brought these services to a grinding halt and will only benefit private operators,” said Sagin Sebestian, a Bengaluru-based techie who travelled 148 times in KSRTC on the Bengaluru-Ernakulum route in 2019.
While public transport is not meant to be profitable, the government is responsible for supporting STUs in terms of carbon credits they accrue, by reducing the number of private vehicles. Fewer private vehicles on roads translates into less traffic, pollution and accidents.
“Public transport has been the worst hit in this pandemic as utilities have lost ridership and revenue considerably. Also, there is less scope to explore commercial spaces at bus stations. Public transport corporations should not be looked at as profit-making agencies as it is the social obligation of the state government to provide accessible and affordable public transport system for all sections of society,” said Dr Ashish Verma, associate professor, transportation systems engineering, Indian Institute of Science.
“The government should financially help STUs by paying salaries to their employees, enabling the utilities to sustain and provide extensive service through the city. Private operators running services in the absence of STUs are fleecing passengers and also ferrying more than the stipulated number,” Verma added.
Ravi Gadepalli, a public transport expert, said: “In India, only discretionary financial support is provided to STUs. There should be longterm assured support from the state government. STUs should focus on improving efficiency of services.”
Employees of STUs risked their lives and transported emergency workers even during the first wave of the pandemic. Several staffers and their families were infected too. A total of 112 employees in four STUs died due to Covid-19. However, only a handful of their family members have received the compensation of Rs 30 lakh as promised.
“There was a mistake on our part. Salaries of employees were delayed and were paid in instalments last year. In fact, they couldn’t celebrate last year’s Deepavali due to the delay. Many were upset after that. We were helpless since there was no revenue due to decline in ridership. The finance department took so much time to process the file. This strike is an after-effect,” said a senior official in one of the STUs.