TN transport corporation expands courier business

Claims cheaper than postal service & on the same day package will be delivered

State-run State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) which had launched a courier service four months ago, has now added more destinations.

SETC initially covered 12 places in Tamil Nadu and Bangalore. “With the amount of enquiry and repeat orders, we have now expanded the service from April 14 further across the state and to Bangalore,” said G Ramesh, project manager, 7 degree C.

Chennai-based V-Speeds Logistics is the sole courier and cargo licensee for SETC for this service. The corporation charges Rs 7 for sending postal covers. C stands for courier.

“It is all to do with time and cost. In both the cases, we are competitive than postal department's parcel service and private couriers.”

For instance, if a customer books a parcel at 6.30 am to Coimbatore, which is around 430 km from Chennai, it will be put up in the next bus and delivered in 11 hours.

This will be an additional revenue for SETC, which is currently bleeding due to various reasons -- mainly due to the hike in diesel price. While figures for SETC alone are not available, the eight transport undertakings in 2011-12 incurred a loss of Rs 1,791 crore, with a cash loss of Rs 1,392 crore. The losses incurred from April 2012 to January 2013 was around Rs 756 crore with a cash loss of Rs 397 crore.

The service is now being used by corporations, retailers, vendors, education institutions and individuals.

The letter or a parcel handed over to the SETC service will reach its destination in 12 hours. This is not a door delivery service, but will be delivered at SETC centres.

At present, the SETC has around 1,000 routes across the state. All the items, which are restricted for transportation by flight, will be barred for the service too, according to him.

The service will be very secure and there will be restrictions on the type of goods that can be transported by bus, say the SETC authorities. All items which are restricted for transportation by flight will be barred for the service too. All the goods will be properly scanned before being transported.