A meeting of the standing committee of Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU) here on Tuesday resolved to request the association to urge the State and Central governments to reimburse losses incurred by State road transport corporations on rural bus operations as they were operated with a social obligation.
The committee met under the chairmanship of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation managing director G.V. Ramana Rao. The ASRTU member-secretary Ullas Babu, representatives of Assam, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh corporations, Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Corporation (BEST) and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport were present at the event.
A release said the Central government will be requested to fund Information Technolgy initiatives of corporations to increase digital transactions targeted by it to achieve ₹ 2,500 crore. The committee observed that there were a lot of differences among various States in motor vehicle taxes. Therefore, it would be appropriate if there was a uniform tax structure for the entire country.
The meeting discussed at length provisions of the proposed Road Safety Bill and felt that the special provisions relating to State transport undertakings as contained in Motor Vehicles Act should be continued to strengthen the undertakings.
