The monthly collection of the loss-making Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) from the fleet has not gone up as expected commensurate to the increase in bus fares.
The slump has come at a time when the transport utility is targeting Rs.7 crore daily collection in January 2015. The corporation management was not providing the real picture, sources said.
Comparison
A comparison of monthly collection for August, September, and October this year with corresponding period in 2013 has shown revenue drop despite fares going up by 13 per cent.
The total collection from the fleet in August 2014 was Rs.151.32 crore compared to the Rs.136.04 crore in the corresponding month in 2013. The corporation should have got Rs.153.72 crore as the fares had gone up from May. “The shortfall is Rs.2.39 crore for August alone and this can be attributed to the inability of the KSRTC to operate more buses,” sources told The Hindu.
The corporation was able to operate 1,38,620 buses in August this year compared to 1,46,443 in corresponding month 2013. A sum of Rs.7.82 crore would have reached the KSRTC as ticket collection if 7,823 buses got Rs.10.000 as average collection.
In September, the KSRTC was able to generate Rs.150.52 crore compared to the Rs.141 crore in the corresponding month last year. The shortfall has been found to be Rs.8.81 crore.
The number of buses operated in September 2014 was 1,40,507 compared to 1,31,216 in same period last year. The corporation should have got Rs.9.29 crore from the 9,291 buses it failed to operate.
In October, the collection was Rs.152.39 crore compared to the Rs.142.03 crore last October. The shortfall in collection is Rs.8.11 crore.
The KSRTC was able to operate only 1,38,900 buses last month compared to 1,44,183 the same period last year.
Sources said a revenue dip of Rs.2.82 crore had been found even if 1,44,183 buses ran. The KSRTC operates 5,983 schedules on an average day.
