The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) is set to get a boost to its revenue with Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day falling on the same day.
The MSRTC will be running additional bus services over the next three days to cater to the holiday rush. Senior MSRTC officials said around 2,000 additional buses will be pressed into service between August 15 and 18. “Since last year, we have decided to adopt a policy to give the depot managers the freedom to select the routes where additional buses are required, the number of buses to run and the time period. This decentralisation has helped us meet the demands of our passengers,” said Abhijit Bhosale, spokesperson of MSRTC.
A senior official said the MSRTC is lucky that both occasions are falling on the same date. He said, “On occasions like Independence Day and Republic Day, our load factor drops drastically as most people stay at home. However, Raksha Bandhan and Bhau Beej are the two days when our load factor is the highest. We register the maximum revenue.”
On an average, the MSRTC has a load factor of 60, which means for a capacity of 100 seats, 60 are booked. This figure drops to 40 during national holidays and spikes to over 75 during Raksha Bandhan.
The MSRTC has one of the largest fleets in the country with 18,000 buses and 250 depots. On an average day, it ferries 67 lakh passengers. The figure is expected to cross 80 lakh in the next few days, senior officials said.
