The four road transport corporations (RTCs), which are in deep financial distress after the outbreak of the pandemic and postponed the induction of new buses to cut down expenses, are now banking on the State Government. They hope that the Government will provide funds to induct 6,000 new buses in the forthcoming Budget.
A senior IAS officer said that RTCs could not augment the fleet size owing to financial distress for over two years, but increasing the size is required considering the future demand.
“RTCs induct new buses every year by removing old buses in the fleet. The corporations have a requirement of 6,000 buses that include 1,000 electric buses (e-buses). A proposal has been made for the induction of 900 e-buses for the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and 50 each for the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC). When it comes to diesel buses, the KSRTC and the BMTC need 1,500 each and the rest for NWKRTC and KKRTC,” the official said.
Sources said that RTCs have also sought Government support to retrofit existing buses to convert them to CNG buses to bring down fuel expenses. The official said the corporation would induct e-buses on lease by using the State Government subsidy
In the last 12 years, the BMTC has inducted over 1,000 new buses only once — in 2017-18, when it inducted 1,406 buses. In two years — 2015-16 and 2020-21 — the corporation could not induct a single new bus. On an average, the BMTC inducted 421 buses per year in a span of 12 years.
Activists advocating for a robust public transport in the city have been demanding the State Government to fund the corporation to procure buses to meet the size of the growing population of the city.
At present, the BMTC has a fleet size of 6,700. It has never crossed 7,000 in the last 12 years, whereas the city’s vehicle population grew exponentially.
A case in point: in 2011-12, a total of 41.56 lakh vehicles were registered in the city. In 10 years, vehicle registrations crossed the 1 crore mark. The number of two-wheelers jumped from 28.67 lakh to 66.97 lakh during the same 10-year period, and car registrations rose from 8 lakh to 20.94 lakh.
BMTC officials said that from 2010-11 to 2021-22 (till mid-February), the BMTC has received ₹586 crore grant from the State and the Central Governments and funding from the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT).
The Union Government has provided ₹116.51 crore in the last 12 years, while the State Government has provided ₹437.64 crore, and the DULT ₹32.76 crore. In the last five years, barring 2017-18, the corporation has not received any funding from the Centre for procurement of new buses.
