CHENNAI: Hit hard by the lockdown, the State government had to borrow Rs 1,200 crore from the State Bank of India to pay salaries for employees of the State Transport Corporations for three months.
“The corporations are facing a fund crunch as buses have stayed off roads for the last few months,” said transport secretary Dharmendra Pratap Yadav.
Yadav suggested that governments must have a separate transport fund, akin to the system prevalent in the power sector. The State is also looking at imposing a congestion tax as in London, where private vehicles will be charged an additional tax to encourage people to adopt public transport.
With buses being asked to fill only half their capacity, there is a chance that corporations will hire private vehicles to bridge the gap, said Yadav. The State may also go for cashless transactions to maintain social distancing — in the form for day or weekly passes and QR coded coupons. The State may also implement Bus Rapid Transit System soon, on the Old Mahabalipuram Road, Yadav said.