The former Union Minister and Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said that it was the paramount duty of the general public to support the State-run public transport system for its survival and shun the private transport system which continues to eat into the revenue of the Road Transport Corporations (RTCs).
Speaking after handing over the last tranche of 329 buses purchased under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) to the North Eastern Transport Corporation and inaugurating the community hall constructed by the NEKRTC at a cost of Rs. 3.50 crore here on Monday, Mr. Kharge said all the four RTCs in the State were in the red.
The mounting losses suffered by the RTCs in the State, despite providing best services, was the lack of support by the public.
He said it was always safe to travel in the buses operated by the RTC and the buses were operated on bare minimum profit and at times on a loss in several routes taking into account the needs of the general public.
The survival of the RTCs was important to extend the help and support to the needy and continuing the concessions extended to different sections of society.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, in his address, said that out of the total scheduled operated by the RTCs in the State, only 18 per cent were making profit, 43 per cent was run on ‘no profit and no loss’ basis and the remaining 39 per cent of the schedules were suffering loss.
Mr. Reddy said that all the four RTCs — KSRTC, BMTC, NEKRTC and NWKRTC — were in the red due to several factors and after series of measures initiated by the government all the four RTCs have made a turnaround and were on the path of recovery.
Mr. Kharge also honoured 79 drivers in the NEKRTC who achieving zero accident rate in the past five years .
