The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will reduce 30 per cent of its service schedule on routes that are financially unviable. The corporation also plans to withdraw concessional and free passes, unless the departments concerned reimburse the cost.
These measures are in the light of a steep hike in fuel charges, treating it as a bulk consumer. The corporation, which is already facing financial problems, will have to incur an additional burden of Rs 18 crore per month due to the price hike.
KSRTC has a fleet of 6,153 buses and operates 5,491 schedules on a daily basis with a staff strength of 40,180. As a major chunk of buses operates on remote routes, the corporation has urged the government to allow it to cut down 1,800 services, which are not viable, immediately.
According to the top management, schedules having a daily average collection below Rs 10,000 would be cancelled, unless the government support them. It had requested the state government to provide assistance to the tune of Rs 200 crore, urgently. The average monthly fuel bill comes to Rs 67 crore and the payment to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is pending for some months now. The public sector oil companies often restrict supply of diesel to the corporation when it exceeds the credit limit and the government then has to intervene.
According to K Sukumaran, leader of the employees association, the corporation is in serious financial crisis as the pension bill alone comes to Rs 30 crore monthly. It has to mobilise an additional Rs 12 crore for salary bills from this month onwards. The corporation has already stopped around 1,000 services, which incur a total daily revenue loss of around Rs 1 crore. The average revenue is Rs 5.1 crore and this has now dropped below Rs 4 crore. KSRTC is the only service in the high ranges of the state and cancellation of schedules would affect commuters, especially workers and students.
A high-level meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday recommended the Transport minister Aryadan Mohamed to cancel these services. According to the corporation, a large number of buses are in a bad condition and this increases the diesel expense. Some of the buses are 20 years old and there average mileage is 4 km.
However, a KSRTC official said fare hike was not a solution to the latest situation as the rates were already very high in the state compared with the railways. Kerala has the highest bus fare among the southern states as the minimum charge in ordinary buses in Rs 6. Interestingly, there are around 40 companies in the state which have a fleet of 50 buses. They get diesel at subsidised rate.
The hike will also impact the price of tyre, tube, spares, and engine oil. KSRTC with a monthly income of Rs 150 crore has a revenue-expenditure gap of Rs 55 crore.
The employee association thinks otherwise. “Increasing the bus fare is the only solution to tide over the crisis created by the hike in the price of diesel. The corporation is not in a position to absorb the price hike. The fuel bill will go up to Rs 67 crore,” said a leader of the association.
The corporation needs Rs 30 crore every month to pay pension. In addition, it has to find Rs 30 crore monthly for loan repayment. It also incurs a revenue loss of Rs 180 crore monthly for various concession and free passes.
Meanwhile, petroleum dealers here have offered diesel at the market price to the corporation. The Kerala State Petroleum Traders Association said pump operators across the state was ready to supply diesel to KSRTC like they were supplying to other government vehicles. It is unjust to enhance the fuel charge for KSRTC as thousands of people depend the public transport system, it said.
