The All Kerala Private Bus Operators’ Association and Kerala State Private Bus Operators’ Federation have lamented the raw deal meted out to the private bus sector in Friday’s State budget.
“The sector which operated approximately 12,500 buses is now in the ventilator for the past about 18 months due to the pandemic situation and skyrocketing fuel price. We hoped that the government would announce a package in the budget to save the sinking sector, which provided a means of income to around 10,000 bus owners and a lakh bus crew and other employees. Around 80% of people depended on buses for commute in Kerala (till the pandemic struck),” said T. Gopinathan, general secretary of the association.
“Conspicuously, the private bus sector, which caters to the commuting needs of a bulk of these people has been ignored, while KSRTC which owns less than 5,000 buses and is neck deep in loss, was allotted a total of ₹1,406 crore in 2020 from the public exchequer. This shows that the government spends ₹7,700 each day for every KSRTC bus. The massive spending on KSRTC is with the full knowledge that there will be little returns from the debt-ridden PSU,” he added.
“On the contrary, private buses, which operate without any monetary help from the government, gave back to the State ₹1.75 crore per day by way of vehicle tax and sales tax on diesel. Still the government is unwilling to step in with interim help to rescue the sector.”
CNG conversion
Lawrence Babu, general secretary of the federation, said that the allocation of ₹100 crore in the budget for CNG conversion of 3,000 buses is yet another government bounty that has been extended to the debt-ridden KSRTC. “At the same time, the long-pending demand from private bus operators to extend interest-free loan to retrofit CNG kit (the process costs around ₹5 lakh per bus) has fallen on deaf ears. Private buses number thrice that of KSRTC and ferry much more commuters. Thus, bus operators must be extended interest-free loan to retrofit CNG kit, which costs around ₹5 lakh per bus. The government must also waive vehicle tax for a year, considering the fall in patronage for buses,” he said.
“The State government earned substantial revenue from sales tax, since diesel price was hiked by ₹25 during the past year. But it is turning a blind eye to the plight of private bus operators who had to replace batteries, tyres, etc. and also had to pay the hiked insurance premium, to operate them after the first wave of the pandemic. The second wave has further struck a blow to the sector. In this situation, the government must provide diesel to public transport buses after foregoing sales tax on the fuel. A relook at the nominal amount that students pay for travel too is needed,” Mr. Babu added.
