Passengers keep away from buses, MTC daily revenue hit

Passengers keep away from buses, MTC daily revenue hit

Oppili.P@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 09.09.2020

MTC may have resumed bus services in Chennai, but commuters continued to shun public transportation.

A senior official said many buses returned with poor collection. “Some of the prime routes that usually generate about Rs 5,000 a trip on a normal day did not even fetch Rs 1,000,” he said.

The average per day collection of Rs 3 crore has dropped below Rs 1 crore. The revenue is not sufficient to cover the fuel cost, the official said.

Of the total 3,234 MTC buses, 2,300 are being operated now. Of these, nearly 1,200 buses are run full shift, from morning to night, and the rest are divided into two shifts. In both shifts, nearly 550 buses are operated.

Each vehicle requires 60 litres of diesel, the mileage being 6km a litre. About 50% of buses are more than five years old and hence consume more fuel compared to newer models, the official said.

Another official said people from neighbouring districts working in Chennai are using MTC services as suburban services on the Chennai-Chengalpet, Chennai-Tiruvallur, Chennai-Arakkonam and Chennai-Gummidipoondi routes are not available yet.

These people were solely dependent on suburban train services for their daily commute before the pandemic. Local trains are preferred as season tickets are cheaper when compared to MTC services, he said.

NO TAKERS: An official said buses on prime routes don’t even fetch a fraction of the earlier collection