HRTC to go for wet leasing to strengthen its fleet

Grappling against mounting loss of over Rs 600 crore, the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) has decided to go for "wet leasing" of buses to strengthen its fleet.
Under the "wet leasing scheme," buses will be provided to private operators who will bear the expenditure on diesel, repair, tyres, insurance and token tax.
Only drivers and conductors will be provided by the HRTC and operators will be paid on kilometre basis, an official spokesman said.
According to calculations, per kilometre operating cost of wet leasing buses is less than the cost of operating HRTC's own buses, and the scheme will benefit the Corporation in decreasing its operational losses without reducing the fleet, he added.

Daily consumption of diesel in HRTC was approximately 1.60 lakh litres and the price of diesel for bulk purchasers is higher by Rs 12.50 per litre than prevalent market rates, he said.
Diesel price will be reduced to half if bulk purchases are made from private pumps at competitive discounts, the spokesman said adding, a decision to purchase diesel from private pumps has been taken after thoughtful consideration.