By Pawan Jha, Officer Personnel & Public Relations, ASRTU
A good public transport had been in a great demand, and there were hues and cries soon after attaining Independence. The need of public transport was so necessary that, within our constitution, a provision was made to provide affordable transport services to its citizens.
The Road Transport Corporation Act 1956 was enacted to enable the State Government to set up Transport Corporations with the objective of providing efficient, adequate, economical and properly co-ordinated system of road-based public transport services in the country. The motive was to increase mobility of people, goods and services and to improve the standard of living.
Since 1956 till 2000, SRTCs have rendered exceptionally best services and made their presence dominant against private bus operators. SRTCs were catering services for every nook and corner in their respective States. Rural services, hilly area services, operations on non-profitable routes and operations in severe geographical conditions have been their forte. SRTCs are known for their reliable, affordable and safer services.
During the 50 years of dominating era, SRTCs have achieved glorious milestones nationally and internationally. SRTCs get their name in the prestigious ‘The Limca Book of Records – KSRTC’, ‘The Guinness Book of World Records for Largest Fleet – APSRTC’, and much more. SRTCs are catering many exclusive services based on the community requirements, pink bus services for ladies, school buses for children and certain local customized service needs. They were ahead with their offer of premium, luxury services of Volvo, Scania and Mercedes buses. IT-enabled services like online ticket booking, fare collection, PI systems, value-added services and lounge services are in place for long-distance travellers.
With the passage of time and availability of alternatives, SRTCs are now fighting for survival, with growing costs of fuel, employee salaries, high cost of maintenance, etc. By dwelling in metro cities like Delhi, the importance of SRTCs may not be felt however, situation of rural and remote areas is quite different. By and large, those who can’t afford their own two-wheelers / four-wheeler public transport, the bus service is the lifeline for them. It is reported that more than 70 million people are using SRTC buses every day as compared to 13 million using Railways. In Delhi alone, ridership of Delhi Metro is 2.8 million as compared to Delhi Transport Corporation’s 4.5 million.
Our country is blessed with a dualistic economy and there will have scope and markets for all. Road-based public transport meets the requirements of all walks of people. In metro cities, though SRTCs are at loss, they have kept their competitors away from city services. Operations are rendered despite making losses. It may be noted that public transport helps not only mobility but also contributes significantly to reduce pollution, traffic congestion on roads and save expenditure on fuels.
In Delhi four years back soon after Diwali, an innovative ‘Odd and Even’ scheme was introduced to cope up with the growing pollution. Along with the scheme lots of measures were introduced shutting down factories, power plants, etc. However, with the launch of an innovative scheme a phenomenal reduction in traffic on roads was occurred. It was proved that effective public transport gives the Government an edge.
A few days back a new innovating scheme was launched by BEST to use its services anywhere in Mumbai @ Rs. 5. It is a matter of just 3 days, and ridership has more than doubled what it had prior to the introduction of the scheme. The Delhi Government has also plans to give free services for ladies in Delhi Metro, DTC and the Delhi Cluster Bus Service.
Public transport is a complex issue. It needs support from one and all to remain in service, to serve its commuters. It has to be free from all limitations.
The above are the author’s personal views and have nothing to do with any organization or fleet operator. The author can be reached on jha.pawan@gmail.com