KOCHI: 'Tourist buses for sale - Rs 45 per kg'. The message by a Kochi-based operator to sell his buses for scrap, and shared by the Contract Carriage Operators Association Kerala (CCOA) - the leading association of tourist bus owners - on its Facebook page on Friday, has brought to the fore the near-death situation faced by the tourist bus industry in the state.
Royson Joseph, the owner of Roy Tourism, who put up the post, said he sold 10 out of his 20 tourist buses in the last 12-18 months as the travel restrictions that followed the pandemic have brought the tourist bus operators to their knees. In the last four days of this week, only three tourist buses got a trip to Munnar. "Normally in February, the roads to Munnar witness heavy traffic. Now, the entire stretch is deserted," he said.
Royson has sold 10 buses at distress rates in recent months, just to repay the loans. "I'm ready to sell my buses to anyone who pays me Rs 45 per kg. The situation is really bad; many tourist bus operators are on the verge of suicide," he said.
CCOA state president Binu John said the number of tourist buses in Kerala has come down from 14,000 to less than 12,000 as money lenders took away some of them following default on payments by the operators. "In the last two months alone, more than 1,000 buses were attached by the banks or money lenders," he said.
"The exact number will be known only after March, but we fear another 2,000-3000 tourist buses will be attached by banks and money lenders in the next one month or so," said Binu. The ever-changing COVID travel rules in the state are being cited as the biggest problem.
"There are package tours for 8-10 days where we pick the tourists from the Kochi airport and drop them at Thiruvananthapuram airport after visits to major locations. But, then suddenly the government announces Sunday lockdown, and we are charged Rs 2,000 penalty by the police for operating on Sunday. This at a time when we pay a hefty amount as road, vehicle tax," said Royson.
Workers of tourist buses lose jobs
A tourist bus operator pays about Rs 40,000 per quarter as road/vehicle tax. "In addition, there is the high cost of fuel and other expenses. We want the state government to at least withdraw the tax till COVID restrictions are completely withdrawn," said S Prashanthan of Viswasree Services, another tourist bus operator. Job loss is another side effect.
At Royson Travels alone, 50 staff left the company as the travel operator's income plummeted. Binu said though the Union government has asked the banks to extend the period of moratorium after the first wave of the pandemic, most of the banks stopped the facility.
"That means the owners are forced to pay the installments of their EMIs within the stipulated deadline. The maximum number of trips that an owner gets in a month nowadays is up to three, generating a paltry average income of Rs 20,000. It is very hard to pay the wages of the staff, cover the operational cost and pay the EMI from these meagre amounts," he said.
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