Cash-strapped RTC to hire private buses

Vijayawada: Uncertainty gripped APSRTC as management has recently taken a decision to replace hundreds of RTC buses with hired buses citing financial crunch as the reason.

The State-owned corporation has decided to maintain the hired buses to 25 per cent of the total strength. Therefore, the corporation will stop using 795 of its buses.

According to RTC officials, the management has decided to scrap buses, which plied at least 12 lakh kilometres and replace them with hired buses. As per rules, the RTC replaces new buses in the place of outdated. But, citing financial reasons, the RTC is planning to hire private buses, which will create panic among the staff, sources said.

The RTC is already operating 3,000 hired buses across the State and the number will go up to 3,795 with the fresh decision taken by the management. According to highly placed sources, the corporation losses mounted to over Rs 600 crore and it is not in a position to buy new buses.

The sources further stated that the corporation has already stopped plying 400 old buses across the State after completion of Krishna Pushkaralu and the remaining 395 buses will be stopped very soon.

About 150 buses were stopped in Vijayawada region and the number may go up. The management is using a provision that allow the corporation to increase the number of hired buses to 25 per cent of the total strength.

However, RTC Employees Union State deputy general secretary Y V Rao alleged that the ‘services’ rendered by the corporation during the Krishna Pushkaralu was also one of the reasons for the immediate decision of the management. The RTC incurred losses due to free services rendered by RTC.

Officials believe that the government may give about Rs 13 crore to RTC to meet the expenditure of Pushkaralu. When contacted, RTC executive director (operations) Jaya Rao said that the expenditure on an RTC driver is between Rs 33,000 and Rs 40,000 per month and the minimum wage of hired bus driver is Rs 11,000 only.

In addition, he said that there is no need to RTC to lend crores of rupees to buy new buses and would not suffer with the burden of interests if it runs hired buses.

Y V Rao said that the RTC management and State government are trying to curtail the staff in a phased manner by hiring buses as part of the strategy to privatise the State owned corporation.