CHENNAI: The daily loss incurred by the eight state transport undertakings has increased from Rs 17.7 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 18.9 crore in 2024-25 (up to February).
The mounting debts are primarily attributed to not revising ticket fare since January 2018, which is cheapest in south India, increasing operational cost and fuel expenses, salaries to employees and other benefits.
Meanwhile, the transport department has decided to procure 746 buses powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), which is 12-14% cheaper than high-speed diesel. Additionally, 1,000 diesel buses will be retrofitted to operate on CNG.
The move to run 1,746 CNG buses will not only build an eco-friendly transportation network but also is projected to yield annual savings of Rs 116 crore towards fuel expenses. The switch to CNG is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emission by approximately 37,190 tonnes annually, contributing to environmental sustainability and potentially generating revenue through carbon credits, as per the documents presented in the Assembly.
Last year, the transport department conducted a pilot project converting 21 diesel buses in the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) and six other transport corporations to CNG. The trial revealed that CNG buses are both environmental friendly and more cost-effective, achieving a mileage of 6.5 to 7 km compared to the 5.3 to 5.6 km in diesel buses.
During the Assembly session on grants for his department on Wednesday, Transport Minister SS Sivasankar announced that 3,755 new buses have already been added to the fleet, and another 8,175 buses will be introduced by March 2026. This includes the 746 CNG buses and AC buses funded by the World Bank and other agencies, which are expected to hit Chennai roads starting June.
Official data further indicate that the corporations registered a revenue loss of Rs 6,077.89 crore in 2022-23, which rose to Rs 6,380.83 crore in 2023-24. However, the loss stood at Rs 6,228.79 crore in 2024-25 (up to February). This means, the average daily loss increased from Rs 16.83 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 17.7 crore in 2023-24, and further to Rs 18.9 crore in 2024-25 (till February).
During 2024-25, the transport department recorded earnings of Rs 13,035.06 crore, while total expenditure stood at Rs 19,263.86 crore. Of this expenditure, Rs 10,401.65 crore (54%) was allocated for salary, wages, provident fund, pension and other employee benefits.
High-speed diesel expenses accounted for Rs 4,943.9 crore (25.66%), while Rs 2,332 crore (12.11%) went towards interest payments on loans. An additional Rs 232.32 crore (1.06%) was spent on motor vehicle taxes for buses, with the remaining Rs 1,353 crore (8.17%) covering maintenance, vehicle depreciation, toll fees, provident fund losses and accident compensation.
The fleet capacity of the transport corporation is 20,508 buses, of which 18,674 are being operated on 10,121 routes every day. The buses run for 82.27 lakh kilometers per day and carry 1.8 crore commuters a day.