The outbreak of COVID-19 and the lockdown declared thereafter has compounded the financial woes of the cash-strapped AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC).
“The RTC has debts to the tune of ₹7,000 crore and even a 10-fold increase in fares will not help us steer clear of the losses,” said the Corporation’s Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Madireddy Pratap, at a press conference here on Wednesday.
He said despite incurring a loss of ₹4,200 crore due to the lockdown, the RTC had been paying salaries to its employees in time.
Due to the coronavirus effect, the transport organisation was able to cater to the transport needs of only 2 lakh people. Mr. Pratap said three RTC employees had succumbed to coronavirus and 80 others were undergoing treatment. He said a series of measures had been taken to curb the spread of virus.
Repurposing resources
Mr. Madireddy said to overcome its financial problems, the corporation had been looking for innovative ways and as part of it, it was putting to use old buses that would now serve different purposes.
Pointing to a mobile testing lab, ‘Sanjeevini’, he said 21 such labs were ready and, 30 more would be deployed across the state.
Following a request by the Medical and Health department, the RTC had re-designed 52 of its old ‘Indra’ buses into COVID-19 testing labs and each of the district will get four such labs. These mobile labs can facilitate virus testing for 10 persons at a time.
Mr. Pratap said in view of the spurt in cases in Chennai, the operations between the two States could not be resumed. Talks with the Telangana RTC were postponed as some of the staff in the TSRTC office had tested positive, he said.
Cargo buses
Forty nine vehicles had been converted into cargo vehicles which would now cater to the needs of organisations such as Markfed, he said.
Two hundred other buses had been converted into Janata Bazaars, catering to the needs of the residents in containment and red zones.
He said the corporation had plans to start a driving school in each of the parliamentary constituency across the State. The move would serve the dual purpose of overcoming the shortage of drivers and also create employment opportunities for youth, he added.
