NEW DELHI: The state-run Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), which operates the largest CNG bus fleet in the world, is in a shambles after recording a revenue loss of Rs 2,000 crore this financial year. DTC’s losses in FY 2014-2015 was Rs 1,000 crore, which surged to a whopping Rs 2,000 crore this year.
DTC operates a fleet of 4,937 buses, of which 1,275 are low floor AC buses, 2,506 are low floor non-AC and 1,156 are standard buses. The corporation is facing a major crisis as its expenditure has gone up despite the number of buses falling from 5,200 to 4,937.
Mismanagement and poor debt management has made DTC’s income dry up. Another factor is the non-implementation of scientific planning of routes and operating old standard floor buses.
A DTC officer attributes the losses to other factors. He said that the corporation’s income is Rs 30 per km, while expenditure is Rs 50 per km per bus. “The maintenance cost of low-floor buses is Rs 8 per km. A low-floor bus travels 205 kilometers per day,” he said.
The increase in losses is primarily because of the provision of Rs 1,024.83 crore, which the corporation made for pension and other retirement benefits of its employees. “The losses have surged as they have spent Rs 177.24 crore on monthly pensions and Rs 847.59 crore as DTC’s contribution for pension optees who would retire after May 31,” he said.
The total expenditure of DTC, which caters to over 46 lakh people every day, has risen from Rs 5,101.33 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 6,663.03 crore this year. It has paid salaries worth Rs 2,367.99 crore this financial year, up from Rs 1,329.55 crore last fiscal.
Interestingly, the corporation spends the most in paying interest to the government annually. Since 1996, DTC has been getting loans from the Delhi government to support its daily expenditure. In the fiscal year 2012-2013, the interest it paid to the government was Rs 2,039 crore, while DTC’s earnings stood at Rs 1,324 crore. In 2014-15, the corporation ended up paying an interest of Rs 2,803 crore. This fiscal, it paid an interest of Rs Rs 3,277.14 crore.
With a revenue loss of Rs 2,000 crore, the corporation is clueless about how to operate 1,380 new non-AC buses that are likely to be added to the fleet by the year end. For last three years, DTC has been issuing tenders for 1,380 new non-AC buses, which they failed to get because of monopoly of two bidders, Tata and Ashok Leyland, and other technical issues. When AAP government came to power in February 2014, they announced that by 2016-end, the new non-AC buses will be added to the fleet.
Trouble of Transport
Maintenance cost of low-floor buses: Rs 8 per km
Income: Rs 30 per km Expenditure: Rs 50 per km
A single low-floor bus travels 205 km per day
A standard bus travels 180 km per day 44 DTC bus depots
14,000 drivers and 14,000 conductors
2,500 sheltered and 1,500 non-sheltered bus stops
More than 46 lakh people use buses every day