HYDERABAD: There have been at least four committees appointed in the last 10 years to study the problems plaguing TSRTC, and the-then APSRTC. While three have been in-house committees with IAS officials or ministers heading the same, one was conducted by IIM-Bengaluru, a third-party expert.
The study, which was commissioned in 2005 due to the pressure from employee unions then, also seems to suggest that lack of government grants to cover for its subsidies, and its social obligation to ply in non-profitable routes is what is causing RTC massive losses. This, of course, is apart from its own operational issues.
The study, for instance, indicated that between 1993-96, the corporation did manage to make profits by employing cost-cutting measures and increasing the ticket rates. However, the expenditures rose after that, plunging the corporation into further loss. The expenditure rise can be attributed to diesel rates and spike in the Motor Vehicles (MV) Tax.
“There has been a substantial increase in the expenditure on power — the amount spent mainly on diesel. The level of this expenditure is beyond the control of APSRTC. So the State government could consider reducing the rate of sales tax on diesel for the corporation’s buses if it is seriously interested in making the corporation a self-sustaining organisation,” said the study.
Another critical aspect the report highlighted is the growing rate of MV Tax from 1990 to 2002. In 1990, the MV Tax payable was Rs 7,506 lakh. By the time it was 2002, it grew to Rs 33,706 lakh, almost five times higher. The sharp rise began in 1995-96 when the tax was increased to 13%.
Another report from the Planning Commission in 2016 titled 'Report of the Sub-Group On State Road Transport Undertakings (SRTU) formed under the Working Group on Road Transport' gave a national view on the matter. This emphasised that factors affecting the performance of SRTUs include non-revision of fares, despite rising diesel rates. “SRTUs are not compensated for concessional fares and universal service obligation rendered in the form of bus connectivity to remote areas,” it added.