Hyderabad: this is a double whammy for the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), because after the first wave it was dealing with huge losses and again dealing with a decrease in earnings as well as occupancy due to the closing after the second wave.
In an interview with siasat.com, senior officials in the TSRTC said that the corporation is on track to reach its revenue target for the just-concluded financial year, but the crisis threatens again after the second COVID-19 forced lock.
Currently, the TSRTC buses operate from 06:00 to 10:00 during the leisure time across the state. Due to the limited operating hours and the fear of COVID-19 spread, the earnings of the TSRTC decreased drastically.
The official said the TSRTC operates only 1,100 buses in the state daily, compared to the 4,000 pre-bus buses. The average occupancy of the buses per ride is only 45 passengers.
Earnings per kilometer are just over Rs. 25 over the past few days, which is 72 percent less than normal. Total earnings reduced to Rs. 60 to 70 lakh, versus Rs. 4 crore on average per day.
Occupancy is less than 25 per cent and instead of 4 to 5 journeys the buses run only two journeys as leisure time is only 4 hours.
In Hyderabad alone, TSRTC operates 800 buses, including 200 special buses for medical staff, sanitation workers and other essential service providers.
However, with the help of the state government, TSRTC wants to pay the salaries of the staff and wants to work out a package to overcome the long term losses.
Source: The Siasat Daily