Private bus operators eating into RTC profits

​Hyderabad: Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) is bleeding. It is suffering huge losses on account of illegal operation of buses by private operators. The annual loss is estimated at Rs 1,000 crore.

The RTC unions point out that the private buses which were limited to Andhra areas like Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry before the formation of Telangana have now spread even to districts, including Warangal, Karimnagar, Mancherial, Godavarikhani and other places, cutting into the business of the RTC.

The union leaders alleged that today more number of private buses were plying in Telangana compared to the number of buses which used to be operated in un-divided Andhra Pradesh. Some buses are running with the Arunachal Pradesh registration causing huge losses to the TSRTC. When Arunachal Pradesh registration issue came out, the transport department seized the buses and as a result the TSRTC generated revenue of Rs 1 crore per day. However, with the buses again running on the roads, the RTC is incurring losses, said the leaders.

According to union leaders, registration fee in Arunachal Pradesh is just Rs 18,000 only but in TS and AP, it is Rs 7.2 lakh. But the condition is that the originating or ending point of the journey of a bus should be in the state where it is registered. If the operator flouts this norm, the operation of the bus becomes illegal, the sources said.

Union leaders alleged that illegal operations are thriving with the support of the authorities. “As per the rules, the contract carriages are not supposed to operate the buses as stage carriages but these buses board the passengers stage wise. The online ticket booking itself is the biggest evidence that the private operators were flouting rules,” said Employees Union general secretary K Raji Reddy.

The union leaders said that they have data to support their version that the private buses were eating into the revenues of RTC. Raji Reddy said that they had taken up a survey at toll booths at Chautuppal and Shadnagar on May 28 in 2017 and found out that 1,600 private passed through these routes on a single day. “If the officials do not act against the illegal transportation, how they expect the corporation to come into profit,” questioned Raji Reddy. The number of buses operated by Orange travels has increased three-fold in the state, he alleged.

In the recent times the RTC has decreased the number of a few buses because of less occupancy ratio. Raji Reddy said that if the officials do not take action against private bus operators, the occupancy ratio is bound to decrease. “At places like LB Nagar, the white plate vehicle board passengers shouting ‘Vijayawada’, ‘Amaravati’, which is against the rule and the passenger board the vehicle. If the officials do not take action against such violators how the RTC will increase the revenue,” said Raji Reddy.

Transport Minister P Mahender Reddy said in the Assembly that officials have booked over 9,400 cases against the illegal operations by private operators. The number of cases shows how rampant the operations are going on in Telangana, said the EU leader. Union leaders demanded the government to take corrective measures before it is too late. The Union leader said that if the government can stop the private operators even now, it would result in a profit of Rs 1,000 crore per year.