Even though the increase in fuel cost on a daily basis is posing a challenge to the debt-driven State Transport Corporations, Minister for Transport S.S. Sivasankar rules out any increase in bus fare, saying profits alone cannot be the guiding factor. The three-time MLA, who took charge of the Transport Department recently following the first significant shuffle of the Cabinet of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, appears to have quickly learnt the ropes. In a freewheeling chat with The Hindu, he addresses a range of issues in his Department. Excerpts:
As the Transport Minister, what are your priorities?
There are villages that still lack bus services. It is one of our priorities to operate buses to those villages. It is also our goal to make bus-travelling a pleasant experience for passengers. Our government introduced free bus rides for women and we have to make it hassle-free. We are also planning to modernise the bus operation system so that the passengers will have access to information about the arrival and departure of buses and their movement.
The COVID-19 pandemic struck a blow to the STCs. How do you propose to revive them and make them profitable, given that the government’s commitment to the wages and retirement settlement for transport employees is huge?
The STCs have been making heavy losses for many years. Profit alone cannot be their aim since they are run for the benefit of people. But the government is under compulsion to contain the losses. We are going to identify buses plying on routes where there are not many passengers and routes where more buses are operated without any need. We will use data science for the work and it will help the STCs cut the losses. Operating more mini-buses in cities and increasing facilities in long-distance buses will push up the revenue. Launching parcel and courier services [through the buses] are under consideration. We are also studying the possibility of commercial utilisation of land owned by the STCs. For example, we can construct buildings in bus depots, where the depots can function from the ground floor while the top floors could be converted into commercial complexes. All these measures will help the STCs overcome the losses and become profitable.
The increasing prices of diesel will have a bearing on the operational cost of the STC fleets. Will you look at revising the fares to cushion the loss?
At present we do not have any plan to increase the fare. People are reeling under the constant increase in the prices of petroleum products. It is adding burden to the government and the STCs. We are planning to bring the expenses down to reduce the losses. But the Centre [petroleum companies] is increasing the prices of petroleum products almost daily. Under these circumstances, we will consult the Chief Minister and take an appropriate decision.
Many buses operated in rural areas are not in a good condition. Is there any proposal to replace them within a time frame?
After the DMK assumed office, agreements were signed for buying new buses. Old buses will be replaced with the new ones. We have asked the STCs to enumerate the buses that are in bad condition. Once the exercise is over, we will decide on improving the condition, depending on the requirement. For example, if the chassis is good, we can rebuild the body. Rural areas will be accorded priority since we are committed to improving the condition of buses everywhere.
There are complaints about the safety of women in public transport and long-distance private omni-buses. They get harassed often. Recently a woman journalist complained that a male passenger pulled her leg and the bus crew did not take any action. How do you propose to handle this?
After the Nirbhaya [the Delhi gang-rape and murder] case, the Centre has introduced the Nirbhaya Scheme. It is being implemented in cities in the first phase. CCTV cameras are fixed on buses and we can monitor everything that is happening on a bus during a ride. There will be panic buttons in buses. By pressing them, a woman in distress can reach out to the [police] control room. It will be introduced in Chennai on a trial basis and extended across the State in phases.
A section of Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) drivers is accused of rash driving and not stopping at scheduled halts...
We will study the issue and conduct a training programme for the drivers and the conductors.
How do you propose to tackle corruption in RTOs? There is no transparency in the amount collected from new-vehicle owners during registration. Automobile dealers collect unaccounted-for money as ‘RTO fees’ for registration. Can we expect any transparency any time soon?
Switching over to online will slowly reduce these problems. Licence application has gone online. Online, instead of direct dealing, will go a long way in easing the situation. We will continued our efforts to achieve this.
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