300 buses plying under PRTC’S KM scheme out of ops
PATIALA: The Pepsu Road Transport Corporation’s kilometre (km) scheme has gone off track as at least 300 buses it is running under it are yet to resume operations during the Covid-19 unlock phases.
Under the scheme, the responsibility of operating the buses is of the private transporters and the corporation has to give only the running cost. Of the 300 buses under the scheme, 15 are integral coaches (Volvo), 47 are HVAC, while 233 are ordinary buses that are run through contracts with private transporters. These buses have not been plying since March 18 when restrictions were placed on public transport.
The corporation has a total fleet of 1,045 buses.
Though the PRTC resumed transport services on May 20, it is still running less than 50% of its total fleet due to lesser occupancy in the wake of the pandemic. The private transporters associated with the corporation fear huge losses in this scenario.
“It is not financially viable for the PRTC to run buses under the km-scheme at this stage. Even Prtc-owned buses are facing occupancy issues as the people are reluctant to travel in public transport,” managing director Jaskiran Singh said.
The employees unions see the scheme as a tactic to promote privatisation in the state’s transport sector.
FOCUS ON GENERATING REVENUE AS OF NOW
Nirmal Dhaliwal, convener of trade unions linked with PRTC, said the decision of not running the buses under the scheme at this stage will help PRTC to meet its expenditure somehow.
Pradeep Gautam of the Km-scheme Bus Operators’ Union said non-operation of buses has not only hurt them financially but also the workers have been rendered jobless.