Hyderabad: RTC grapples with 38 pc occupancy rate in a week

Hyderabad: It has been seven days since the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has started the operations after relaxations in lockdown but it did not fetch any benefit to the Corporation in terms of revenue as the losses have increased with lesser patronage.

The TSRTC has been operating buses in the districts excepting Hyderabad city following the physical distancing guidelines since May 19. The management has been allowing one person on a seat following the physical distancing in the buses. However, the officials said that not even 50 per cent of the buses are getting filled in the buses leading to losses to the already loss-making Corporation.

A senior official told The Hans India that the Corporation was on an average operating 3,500 buses every day since the relaxations were given. These buses were operated from different districts except for the Greater Hyderabad zone which has about 3,500 buses. The worrying factor for the Corporation was that the occupancy ratio in these buses was not even crossing 40 per cent.

"The average occupancy ratio in the buses these days is around 38 per cent even when the Corporation is running with 50 per cent limit. At times the buses are cancelled because of the lack of passengers in some districts," said the official. For a bus of 56 seats, the management decided to allow only 28 passengers. However, the number of passengers in the buses was around 20 and 22, the official said.

The official said that the Corporation loses Rs 4 per kilometre even with the buses operated with 70 per cent occupancy ratio (OR). With the occupancy ratio being at 38 per cent, the Corporation is losing Rs 7 to Rs 8 per kilometre. The OR in the RTC buses was as low as 68 per cent in the previous years but was increased to 75 per cent during 2019-20 after the Corporation rationalised the bus services.

The official said that they were taking decision on operations based on the passenger rush. The official said that generally summer would be a busy season for the Corporation but because of the Corona crisis it has left an impact on earnings. When asked about the fare increase, the official said that this decision would have to be taken by the government. The Corporation expected good revenue with increased ticket fares but they could not get good returns thanks to the Corona crisis.