It has been a rough ride this year for the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC). The COVID – 19 pandemic, rising costs of diesel, spare parts and maintenance expenses, cast a shadow on the transport juggernaut, which despite such hurdles, continues to cater to the travel requirements of lakhs of people in the State.
The extent of losses was a staggering ₹ 2,600 crore, the TSRTC informed the media in August. This was due to a crushing combination of factors which included the TSRTC’s fleet coming to a grinding halt during the COVID – 19 lockdown, a constant increase in fuel prices by around 27%, maintenance cost, and interest payments on loans. To ameliorate the situation, a loan of ₹ 1,000 crore was sanctioned.
But this alone would not solve the problem. Officials of the transport juggernaut, including Managing Director V C Sajjanar, got into a huddle and began brainstorming on how the corporation’s dipping fortunes could be turned around. Discussions entailed a host of ideas and proposals, the most notable of which were monetising the TSRTC’s large land bank, and removing around 500 buses from the fleet.
Eventually, in December, the Transport Minister, Mr Sajjanar and Chairman Bajireddy Goverdhan proposed a fare hike of 25 paise to 30 paise per kilometre. The hike is yet to take effect. TSRTC management stated that it was ticket prices which determined the revenues of the corporation
The TSRTC has a fleet strength of approximately 9,500 buses. In what is reflective of occupancy, the kilometres operated per day fluctuated through the months of May to September this year. In May, the average volume of kilometres operated was 8 lakh, and rose to 30 lakh in September. In the same period, the daily average traffic earnings were ₹2.10 crore which increased to ₹ 9.31 crore. This was an improvement, but far from pre-pandemic revenues.
An aging fleet remains a cause of concern. According to the TSRTC’s policy, buses which have completed 15 years in service or have crossed 13 lakh km are to be replaced. The TSRTC has not bought any new buses for its fleet this year. There are scores of buses which are approaching the 15-year in-service or 13 lakh-km parameter. According to estimates, there are around 1,000 vehicles which are to be replaced.
But all was not grim. Chief Justice of India N V Ramana intervened on behalf of P Vaishnavi, a class VIII student from Chidedu, who wrote to him about the lack of bus services. The corporation pressed into service buses for students of the village.
Restoration of more services followed. Acting on 370 representations from passengers, including students, the TSRTC restored 359 services. The largest number of services which were restored were from Nalgonda Region and Greater Hyderabad Zone. The TSRTC stated that as many as 92 services were restored for students. Despite this, the overcrowding, due either to poor frequency or paucity of buses on certain routes, remains a problem which the TSRTC continues to grapple with.
In what was one of the largest mass vaccination programmes, the TSRTC fully vaccinated its staff of over 48,000. In another employee-friendly initiative, Managing Director V C Sajjanar ensured that action was taken in the case of passengers misbehaving with staff. He also took steps to ensure those who allegedly indulged in defacing TSRTC properties were booked.
