There is some good news from the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) - Madurai region.
In May, during its summer operations, it has registered a higher collection than the corresponding period of last year. According to officials, through its 4,280 buses in the region, a record Rs. 101.38 crore has been collected as passenger fare last month, a rise of about Rs. 13 crore from last year's collection.
The Madurai region comprises Madurai, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Dindigul and Virudhunagar divisions.
On an average, the daily collection in May 2009 stood at Rs. 2.85 crore — monthly total being Rs. 88.36 crore. In May this year, the Corporation had crossed the Rs 100 crore mark with an average daily collection of Rs. 3.26 crore.
On particular days there was a record collection — May 16 (Rs. 3.64 crore), May 17 (Rs. 3.74 crore), May 23 (Rs. 3.77 crore), May 24 (Rs. 4.01 crore) and May 31 (Rs. 3.58 crore), officials said.
Reasons
A senior TNSTC official said that though many factors were attributed to the increase in fare collection during summer, introduction of new buses and marginal increase in fares could be the prime reasons.
Meanwhile, representatives of employees' unions have appealed to the State government to redress the grievances, especially, when the Corporation had surpassed its targets. Disbursal of gratuity dues to the employees was pending since October last year. Similarly, release of PF loans to employees could be expedited, said Staff Federation joint general secretary S. Sampath.
At a time, when the Corporation earned a good revenue, disbursal of the dues to both serving and retired employees would boost the morale of the work force to achieve better results, he said.
