Top priority to clear KSRTC buses
Transport commissioner K. Padmakumar has issued a directive to all RTOs to ensure vehicle inspection of KSRTC buses involved in accidents are completed on priority. The inspection must be conducted and buses released in the minimum possible time. DTCs will ensure compliance in this regard. This was following a request from chairman and managing director A. Hemachandran about the undue delay in inspection of KSRTC buses involved in accident cases by officers of Motor vehicle department.
This causes delay in release of buses from the police station. This delay adversely affects the facilities for the common man due to the non availability of KSRTC buses and causes monetary loss to the corporation and government, the order from the Transport commissioner said. Mr Hemachandran made the request as KSRTC was in the process of seeking loans to tide over the financial crisis. As many as 200 buses of the KSRTC met with accident every month.
It takes around 15 days to a month for the MVD officials to release the vehicles to the KSRTC after completing the formalities now. Some of the buses which met with an accident have a daily collection of Rs 20,000. The monthly collection loss of a bus alone comes to `6 lakh, sources said. On an average, the monthly revenue of the KSRTC comes to Rs 160 crore, with the monthly expenses costing the corporation Rs 315 crore. The amount needed for paying the salary of permanent employees is Rs 65 crore per month while Rs 7 to 8 crore was required to pay wages to employees who have been hired on a temporary basis, sources said. The pension bill for KSRTC came to `30 crore per month. Monthly diesel bill of KSRTC was around `56 to `60 crore and that for buying spare parts cost `9 crore a month, sources said.
