Public transport fares in Tamil Nadu are among the lowest in the nation, and they have benefitted travellers immensely. Besides, there has been a marked increase in the operational efficiency of the State Transport Undertakings (STUs) in the past three years, Transport Minister V. Senthil Balaji informed the Assembly on Wednesday.
Replying to the debate on the demands for grants for the Transport Department, he said that despite the exorbitant increases in diesel prices effected by the Centre, the State government decided to absorb the additional burden of the STUs and spare the people. During 2013-14 and in the previous fiscal, a financial assistance of Rs. 500 crore each had been granted to the STUs to offset the increase in fuel purchase cost.
The eight State Transport Corporations commanded a fleet of 22,501 buses, including 1,817 spare buses. The number of scheduled services had increased from 19,110 in March 2011 to 20,684 in March last, covering 91.20 lakh km a day. Significantly, thanks to the steps taken in the past three years, the average fuel efficiency increased to 5.30 km per litre from the 2011 mark of 5.25 kmpl, he said.
Claiming that the passenger fares, even after a revision in November 2011, were among the lowest in the country, Mr. Balaji said the fares in the State were 42 paise per kilometre for ordinary category services, 56 paise for express/semi-deluxe services, 60 paise for super deluxe services, 70 paise for ultra deluxe, 90 paise for air-conditioned coach services and Re. 1.10 for Volvo services. These compared favourably with the fares across all categories of services in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Eleven sites were identified across the State for commercial exploitation in the private-public partnership mode. These apart, eight sites were earmarked for constructing commercial complexes.
In reply to questions by A. Bhaskar of the DMDK, A. Soundararajan of the CPI(M) and M. Arumugham of the CPI on crews being forced to over-work, Mr. Balaji said they were not forced to work beyond duty hours.
The Minister said the tendering process was under way for initially introducing the Smart Travel Card Scheme in the Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Chennai. During 2014-15, the Tamil Nadu Transport Development Finance Corporation proposed to lend Rs. 400.44 crore for the purchase of 1,868 new buses, besides assisting in payment of motor vehicle tax and bonus for employees and other working capital totalling Rs. 1,495.55 crore.