A combination of factors, including an ageing and dwindling fleet, and the advancement of private bus operators, have left a deep gash in the functioning of the government-run Puducherry Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) in the Union Territory.
Established in 1992 as Puducherry Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (PTTDC), the Corporation was bifurcated into PRTC in 2005. The Corporation was started to meet the expectations of the residents. But in course of time, the vision got a majority of the ailing buses of the PRTC was gradually edged out by private buses.
From a fleet strength of 141 including long-distance buses, the Transport Corporation’s strength has now come down to 65 buses depriving the people of a reliable bus transportation system. Officials say that many scheduled trips from Puducherry to Tirupati, Kumili and Mahe cannot even recover the cost of diesel, leave alone pay the wages of drivers and conductors.
According to sources, the financial losses of PRTC had been mounting each year and this had affected procurement of new buses and operation of services. The fleet was prone to frequent breakdowns, which led to high maintenance and revenue loss.
The intrusion by private operators into the working of the Corporation’s operation had made it more difficult to keep the services afloat for a corporation largely dependent on funds from the Puducherry government.
“The private operators have a thriving network of over 70% vehicles while PRTC owns the rest. The recent assault on the driver of a PRTC in Villianur by crew of a private bus has again brought to the fore the clash over timings between PRTC and the private operators,” he said.
“Private bus operators, in an attempt to get increase in ridership have been ‘enticing’ the PRTC crew with daily payments to change their timings. They have also been trying to change the routes of PRTC. Inquiries by the Corporation revealed that the private bus operators who were struggling to recover to the pre-pandemic levels had sublet operations to ‘checkers’ who don’t possess valid conductor’s license. This has come to our notice and the department has called for a meeting of all stakeholders over the issue,” the official added.
According to S. Ayappan, a resident, “PRTC buses, especially those plying on the East Coast Road to Chennai, were well received by passengers especially office-goers on Mondays. However, the situation has now completely changed. The buses experience frequent breakdowns and are poorly managed resulting in low occupancy. Buses plying on the Puducherry to Karaikal route skip towns such as Sirkazhi even when the occupancy is very low.”
According to a former official of PRTC, “Reward and punishment should go hand in hand. PRTC should have the trust of customers and employees. The crew should be rewarded for dedication and punished for cutting revenue and compromising safety.”
“Although the transport sector offers good scope to the government to tap revenue, successive governments have failed to augment the fleet strength. PRTC should also increase its buses on profitable routes, which are currently held by private buses owned by politicians.”
The Corporation should also rope in checking inspectors on inter-state routes such as Tirupati and Mahe. “The immediate need is to overhaul the Corporation to protect the interests of employees and develop PRTC as a reliable public transport,” he added.
A senior PRTC official conceded that the dwindling fleet size and frequent maintenance issues were a cause for concern.
“A number of buses purchased under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) have clocked over 7 lakh km and have become obsolete. But all that is set to change with the Corporation planning to procure 20 electric buses to be deployed on nine routes. We are also planning to buy another 25 buses and have sought funds from the government,” he added.
