Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) J. Poornachandra Rao on Sunday said the public transport giant had incurred losses to the tune of Rs. 2,233 crore in the last five years on account of bandhs and strikes.
Speaking to the media here, Mr. Rao said that the RTC would add 820 new buses in its fleet soon. In an apparent bid to smooth the ruffled feathers of the RTC Employees’ Union leaders who have threatened to go on an indefinite strike from September 11 if the management failed to address the key issues relating to the employees’ welfare, Mr. Rao spoke at length about the slew of financial setbacks the State-run transport organisation had been suffering on various counts.
He said the employees’ Cooperative Credit Society (CCS) funds had to be diverted to pay salaries to the staff due to the huge gap between the expenditure and revenue generated by the organisation. “The management is looking into the issue and would soon come up with a solution,” he said.
In the last financial year, the RTC generated a revenue of Rs. 3,697 crore when compared to an expenditure of Rs. 4,391 crore.
Bifurcation bluesStating that ‘strike’ issues had always been solved amicably between union leaders and the management, he heaped praise on the RTC staff who, he said, toiled hard for 6-7 hours daily to serve the people. Referring to bifurcation of the RTC which is on the cards, he said huge chunks of lands were needed to create facilities like bus bhavan, a bus body building workshop and a headquarter hospital.
While speaking about the rising cost of operations which had become a burden to the RTC, a reporter asked if he was trying to hint at a fare hike. Mr. Rao evaded a direct reply and merely said ‘it needs to be discussed’. He said that of the total 12,216 buses operating in the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh, 1,715 were hired vehicles. Speaking about plans to curb losses, he said the focus was on improving the occupancy ratio and strengthening the online reservation system.
