Old vehicles' scrapping set to take toll on TSRTC

Hyderabad: Following the Central Government's policy to scrap all vehicles of Central and State corporations and transport departments, that have completed 15 years starting from April 1 next year, several trade union leaders have started to allege that the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) will suffer if the policy gets implemented, as over 1,200 State-run buses will be scrapped of the 6,500 bus-fleet in State. Exacerbating the issue is the non-procurement of new buses in the last three years.

Sources say that if the Central Government's policy is implemented, it will also apply to transport corporations including TSRTC, which used to sell transport buses that are older than 15 years at a scrap price.

Owing to inadequacy of buses, the permit period of buses, including Ordinary, Express and Super Luxury buses, was increased from 15 lakh kilometers to 17 lakh kilometres.

Trade Union leader and former corporation director M Nageswara Rao said that as per an RTI, no new buses were procured by the corporation in the last three years and for the city, no new buses were purchased in the last seven years. "From 2015 onwards, 4,500 buses were scrapped, and no new buses were procured," said Nageswara.

He said, "If the policy is implemented, 1,093 buses and more would be scrapped. There are 424 buses which have completed 15 lakh kilometers, 338 buses that have clocked 16 lakh kilometers and 331 buses have completed more than 17 lakh kilometers on road, all of which will fate scrapping. Surprisingly, hundreds of buses which have completed more than 17 lakh kilometers are still plying on roads. If the new policy comes into force, the registration of government vehicles, processed 15 years ago, will not be renewed and these vehicles will be off roads, affecting TSRTC's functioning".

Currently, in the State 9,500 buses are in service, of which 3,000 buses are hired. While, in Greater Hyderabad limits less than 2,900 buses are in service, the majority of them are refurbished. "Majority of buses that have completed an excess of 17 lakh kilometers are at least 20-year-old and are outdated, yet still service on City roads. These buses are refurbished Super Luxury buses that are operating between Hyderabad and other districts," Nageswara added.

Nageswara said that to ensure zero-losses, TSRTC must procure more buses for the corporation's smooth running. "The new BS-6 vehicles can also control the pollution and are low in maintenance. Whereas, for these outdated buses, several thousand of rupees were spent. They can procure buses from MLA funds and through corporates via their CSR activity. It is high time for the State government to allocate the budget for the corporation to procure new buses," he pointed out.

TSRTC officials say that as of now, the RTC's policy is still in its initial stages and only after a detailed study by the engineering and mechanical wings, the authority may decide on implementing the vehicle scrapping policy for public buses. They added that as per the Centre's policy, not only are the public transport buses supposed to be scrapped but also private vehicles that have been in operation for more than twenty years.

Meanwhile, TSRTC is planning to add 1,020 new buses into service in the City. "320 electric AC buses will be added and the remaining 700 buses will be refurbished from super luxury buses", said a TSRTC official.