KSRTC, BMTC have emerged as leading State-run transport corporations

KSRTC, BMTC have emerged as leading State-run transport corporations

The Hindu

The State has overtaken others because of the good practices and employees' cooperation


Bangalore: The four State-run road transport corporations put together have emerged as the leading government transport undertakings in the country.

The State has overtaken others in the last few years because of the good practices and the cooperation extended by over 75,000 workmen.

A long-term strategy has been finalised to ensure that the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), the Bangalore Metropolitan transport Corporation (BMTC), the North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC) and the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) worked in a similar manner or even better and stay ahead.

It has now become a matter of routine for senior officials of the KSRTC to receive top officials of the government road transport corporations of various States who come to study the progressive strategies adopted here.

Minister for Transport N. Cheluvarayaswamy and KSRTC Managing Director M.R. Sreenivasamurthy told The Hindu here on Tuesday that one of the happy moments for the KSRTC was when a Cabinet subcommittee of the Government of Andhra Pradesh accompanied by a team of senior officials visited Bangalore recently on one such mission.

Union Transport Secretary L.K. Joshi was also here to study the features of the good performance put up by the KSRTC. Apart from them were the visits of high-level delegations from Gujarat and Maharashtra, they said.

Profit

While the KSRTC and the BMTC have together earned a net profit of Rs. 100 crore in the last financial year, the NEKRTC and the NWKRTC have been attempting to break even. The four corporations put together have a fleet of 16,000 buses.

These corporations have not seen any labour strike in the last seven years meaning it was the dedication of the employees, among others, which has enabled them reap rich dividends.

The State is one of the leading operators of Volvo buses in the country. Of the 1,000 Volvo buses on the road, 120 are owned by the State transport agencies and orders have been placed for another 100. A study conducted by the Government shows that the buses have turned out to be a hit for both long distance travel and city travel.

Keeping with the drive to decongest Bangalore and some of the highways connecting important towns and cities, the KSRTC and the BMTC have responded to the call of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. In Bangalore, Volvo buses are being operated in a big way and have proved to be a success. For every Volvo bus in operation, the expectation is that it would help in displacing at least 20 cars and around 40 autorickshaws. At present, such buses are in operation on some long distance routes in the city and orders have been placed for another 50. For the software engineers working on the outskirts of the city, the hi-tech coaches have come as a pleasant change and a large number of them have stopped using private personal transport.

Performance

Mr. Cheluvarayaswamy said what had elevated the KSRTC and the BMTC to a high status was not merely the revenue generated and the profits, although it was a fact that the State was one of the few where State-run bus corporations were earning profits.

The performance was judged on the basis of several parameters, including fuel efficiency, staff per bus ratio, productivity per bus, facilities at bus terminals and accident rate.

The fuel economy of the buses here was 5.25 km to 5.36 km per litre of High Speed Diesel while each bus covered between 360 km to 370 km per day. The accident rate was also low enabling the corporations to earn the national safety award.