KOCHI:
Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) hosted a live online discussion on the topic “‘Private Bus Services in Kerala: Challenges and Way Ahead.”
Even after the lifting of lockdown restrictions, private bus operations are reeling under the pressure of reduced occupancy, high taxes and rising fuel charges. With revenue from the fleet dwindling, the bus operators are struggling to even meet crew salaries.
“Diesel prices are varying every day. Last 11 days, we saw an increase of Rs 7 in diesel price. This is the biggest challenge for the profitability of private bus services.”, said Gokuldas, State Secretary, Kerala Bus Transport Association . In addition, there is the biased approach of the government in supporting state run transport corporations (KSRTC, KMRL) and providing no or minimal support to private operators. The speakers asserted that there is a need to emphasize that private buses are also part of public transport systems. The ticket rate per km permissible as per govt is 72 paise but for sustaining the operations, bus operators require at least 84-85 paise per km.
Speaking at the discussion, M B Sathyan, State President, Private Bus Owners Association highlighted that “The operators were finding it extremely difficult to sustain the operations even before the pandemic, as ticket charges are their only source of revenue, but their expenditure ranges from diesel charges, maintenance of body parts, employee salary, etc. These aspects are not considered while fixing the minimum charge for tickets.”
Gokuldas, State Secretary, Kerala bus transport association pointed out that students were a major share of bus passengers, but were paying the least, which is a serious issue affecting the revenue of this sector. He also pointed out that 70% of the students in the state are dependent on private buses for their transportation needs. However, the student fare is fixed at Rs. 1 because of the system of bus fare concession. This is an unsustainable discount policy.” Mr. B.J Antony (former senior deputy transport commissioner) suggested that the Govt. should pay back the fare concession to the students directly to their accounts. This will ensure that the revenue of private operators are not affected. He also suggested that students’ concession should be restricted to students belonging to BPL category.
K M Nawas (District Secretary -Ernakulam, Kerala Bus transport Association) pointed out that COVID has resulted in a consistent drop in bus patronage in the recent months, from 950 passengers per day during January 2020 to 650 in March and then 265 passengers post lockdown. How the private bus owners account for this reduction in revenue is a question of their survival.
B.J Antony (former senior deputy transport commissioner) put forward a few suggestions to improve this sector. He asserted that there is a need for a comprehensive study on the private bus sector. There are hardly any transport planners in the govt system. The Government should create an advisory committee to study these issues.”
The speakers unanimously agreed that the operational efficiency of the private bus services were much higher than KSRTC, despite the high proportion of govt support to the public sector corporation. If needed, they agreed to contribute to increase the operational efficiency of KSRTC.
Gokuldas (State Secretary, Kerala Bus Transport Association), K M Nawas (Ernakulam District Secretary, Kerala Bus Transport Association), M B Sathyan, State President, Private Bus Owners Association and B J Antony (Former Senior Deputy Transport Commissioner) will speak at the event. D Dhanu Raj (Chairman, Centre for Public Policy Research) will be the moderator.
