The Hindu : Front Page : Private bus operators make a killing

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Wednesday, Jul 30, 2008
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Private bus operators make a killing

Suresh Krishnamoorthy

APSRTC loses Rs. 1,000 crore annually; rampant misuse of permits reported

HYDERABAD: The display of lung power by J.C. Prabhakar Reddy, brother of Panchayat Raj Minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy, in the Transport Commissioner’s office on Monday has exposed the internecine feuds between private bus operators and how some of them circumvent the law to make a fast buck.

There is fierce competition between these operators who ply some 2,000 buses connecting all important towns and cities, although all bus routes in the State are nationalised. The biggest operator owns over 150 buses, while Mr. Prabhakar Reddy runs 24 under the name of Diwakar Travels.

There is cut-throat competition between them and the Transport Department is often caught in this vortex as happened on Monday.

A closer look at the episode reveals the utter helplessness of the government machinery to curb practices that are clearly beyond the law that says buses cannot be run as stage carriages on contract carriage permits.

It is the worst-kept secret that almost all private buses ply as stage carriages, picking up passengers en route and provide tough competition to the AP State Road Transport Corporation. According to Executive Director, APSRTC, A. Nageswara Rao, the corporation loses about Rs. 1,000 crore annually because of the private buses.

Typically, violations include operators running their services across the State on just a one-district or two-district permit and operating across several States on a State permit.

Currently, the tax collected is Rs. 890 per seat, per quarter (PSPQ) for single district operations, Rs. 1,200 to run in two districts, Rs. 2,650 for State and Rs. 3,650 for all-India permits PSPQ. But, some operators evade this tax by misusing the permits, running several buses with the same registration number plate, having more seats than they paid for and risking passengers’ safety by carrying commercial goods on the roof top.

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