The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Daily collections of MTC bus services decline

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Sunday, May 03, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Daily collections of MTC bus services decline

Vidya Venkat

“The fare reduction appears to be a temporary move”

Driver batta reduced for Deluxe, Express and
LSS services
Fare collection has nearly halved

CHENNAI: The daily collection of Metropolitan Transport Corporation plunged below the average on Thursday, the day on which it brought down the fares of the Deluxe, Express and LSS bus services on a par with those of ordinary services.

It dropped to Rs.1.45 crore as against the average daily collection of Rs.1.80 crore on April 30, said sources in the transport corporation.

On the previous day, Wednesday, when MTC operated additional bus services to make up for the lack of EMU train services in Chennai-Arakkonam section, the daily collection had touched Rs.2 crore. Several of the additional services were operated as Deluxe and Express services.

Conductors in different buses that were operated as Deluxe, Express and LSS services, before the reduction in the fare, also reported a drop in the daily collection in their services on Thursday.

The last fare revision by the government was in 2001. But with the induction of low-floor and luxury buses in its fleet in 2007, MTC started levying higher fares for these new services.

MTC also operates 30 Volvo air-conditioned buses whose fares were not reduced on Thursday. However, fares for the 803 Deluxe buses, whose minimum fare was earlier Rs.5, 248 Express buses, whose minimum fare was Rs.3, a total of 475 LSS buses, whose minimum fare was Rs.2.50 and 839 ‘M’ services, on which flat rates of Rs.3, 4, 5, were charged, have now been uniformly brought down to the level of ordinary fares. The minimum fare in all the buses, except the AC buses, is Rs.2.

A conductor of a bus on route number 21 – High Court to Mandaveli — said two LSS services were operated prior to the fare reduction during rush hour. With ordinary services now being operated during the rush hour, the total collection has come down by Rs.200 per trip, he said.

A conductor of a bus on route number 1B – High Court to West Tambaram – said the Deluxe bus services on a day fetched an average of Rs.5,000 previously, but after they started collecting ordinary fares the collection has nearly halved.

As a corollary, the batta which the drivers and conductors earned previously in the Deluxe, Express and LSS services has also reduced. However, sources in transport corporations employees’ union say they have not protested this. “The fare reduction only appears to be a temporary move,” said A.P.Anbazhagan, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Employees Federation.

Sources say the Corporation has recently received Rs.1,300 crore for purchasing new buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. “If the Corporation continues to operate thus with lowered revenues, it will be unable to pay back loans,” they said. MTC managing director V.Paulraj refused to comment.

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