 "State bus services desperate for funds")
State transport undertakings (STUs) are looking at central and state governments for fund infusion.
The dual benefits would be better mobility for citizens and reduction in environmental degradation.
Currently, there are 55 STUs, with a total of 148,000 buses, carrying about 70 million passengers daily. An STU official said while the central government was talking about Digital India, 'smart' cities and mass rapid transport systems, the basic requirement of bus connectivity was being ignored.
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"In the past five years, the overall fleet of STUs is more or less the same. Since STUs are incurring losses, we want Centre and states to infuse equity to upgrade capital investment in these," said a senior official in the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU).
According to its members, they don't have resources for capital investment - more buses, modernising of workshops, information technology in operations, etc. As a result, operating costs are high. Of total expenses, salaries are 40 per cent. Another 30-35 per cent is for fuel.
The official quoted earlier said none of the state road transport undertakings (SRTUs) out of the 55 made profit in 2012-13, the latest year for which audited results are available. The combined loss for that year was Rs 7,395 crore.
The governments of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have wound up their transport corporations because of financial stress. Government-run public transport was becoming unsustainable, said an ASRTU member, even as both states and the Centre claim they are pushing for a reliable and safe system in this regard.
According to Jaijit Bhattacharya, partner, infrastructure and government services, KPMG: "STUs take care of the large demand for transportation. They need to focus on operational efficiencies to improve their financial health. That can be done by infusing technology in operations. Besides, they need to work on generating non-ticket revenue from food and beverages, advertisements and commercial exploitation of real estate."
The majority of SRTUs are worried about their survival, given their poor financial health and lack of fare increases, due to political pressure. Heads of these bodies lament that state governments are either not paying or releasing a part of the claim that SRTUs make on account of providing huge discounts to students, senior citizens and other categories of passengers.
Currently, the undertakings have around 70 per cent of their operations in rural areas. Losses on account of urban services were Rs 4,331 crore in 2012-13; rural losses were Rs 2,997 crore.
Among other measures, the members want diesel supply at a discounted price, so that STUs can keep the fares at lower levels, to attract people away from personal modes of transport. Annually, the 55 STRUs consume about three billion litres of diesel, a third of their total operational cost. The phased deregulation of diesel prices from January 2013 has forced them to pay almost 25 per cent more in fuel cost since.
Association members also want separate policies for urban and rural transport. Plus, city-specific policies to promote public transport, to reduce overall energy consumption within a city.
