The coronavirus has had a profound impact on all spheres of life and the rapidity of its spread is adversely affecting lives and livelihoods across the globe.
The transport sector is one of the primary victims of COVID-19 with the pandemic hitting all alike, from rickshaw-pullers to the airlines. With social distancing identified as pivotal in keeping the virus at bay, people have been asked to work from home, resulting in a sharp fall in the transportation sector. A significant portion of the airline fleet was grounded, number of cars on the road dwindled and the public transport system has tumbled to an all-time low.
Citing higher risk of community spread of the virus in public transport, the Centre imposed complete lockdown restricting movement. The move brought the large fleet of buses belonging to the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) to a screeching halt. They were confined to the depots, adding to the huge revenue losses accumulated by the corporation over the last many years. This also compounded the misery of the scores of migrant workers who lost all means to reach home to escape the virus attack.
Humble beginning
Established in June 1932 as NSR-RTD (Nizam State Rail & Road Transport Department), a wing of the Nizam State Railway in the erstwhile Hyderabad State with mere 27 buses and 166 employees, the ongoing coronavirus destruction trail is probably one of the worst crisis witnessed by the public sector carrier.
"COVID-19 has changed perceptions. Even after the situation normalises, the risk associated with crowded areas could lead to a shift in preferences towards personal travel mode. After COVID, I’ll avoid public transport to stay away from crowds," says Rajendran Minnal, a retired professor.
Mr. Minnal is not alone in thinking so as there are others who doubt if they would opt for shared mobility modes like autorickshaws even after the lockdown is completely lifted. However, it will be premature to say at this point if these modes will continue to face a slump in demand in the long run.
Although the APSRTC resumed services partially from May 21 (Thursday), the confusion among the officials is palpable – will they pick up where they left off (before COVID-19) or is this the beginning of a new chapter?
This may not be the first time that public transport has been limited but the scale of the restriction is unprecedented. The pandemic is demonstrating how an immobile world looks like with a focus on the central role of transport in the economy.
Huge loss
Running RTC buses with reduced number of seats to adhere to the social distancing norm will only mean less revenue on the operations but the government is driven by the ‘public welfare’ motto. "Despite heavy losses, we have not increased the bus fares and have been desperately looking for alternative means to shore up our revenues only because we do not want people at the grassroot level to suffer in the absence of public transport facility," says Transport Minister Perni Venkataramaiah.
