CANACONA: Citing rising fuel costs, discounted KTC passes and other factors, private bus operators from Canacona have appealed to the government to take over their buses and their staff, failing which they would be forced to discontinue their services.
Urge govt to take over business, if not threaten to discontinue services
TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
CANACONA: Citing rising fuel costs, discounted KTC passes and other factors, private bus operators from Canacona have appealed to the government to take over their buses and their staff, failing which they would be forced to discontinue their services.
According to Anthony Pereira, the taluka representative of the Private Bus Operators Association, almost all private bus operators in the taluka are pained that there are no reasonable returns in the trade since a limited number of people commute by private buses.
“Unsubstantiated costs of fuel and other accessories also leave us little or no gains,” complained Pereira.
“The government has also introduced monthly passes on KTC buses, lowering the conveyance ticket fare to less than one-third of the actual rate, which further kills our business prospects,” he informed.
Pereira said the private bus operators have appealed to the government to save them from total bankruptcy by taking over their buses and engaging the services of their drivers/conductors.
“Otherwise, we have no other option but to sit at home,” informed Pereira, while adding that the situation has become difficult for the 60-odd private buses operating on Canacona route alone.
According to Pereira, the one-way journey from Chaudi (Canacona) to Margao costs Rs 30, while people buying monthly KTC passes only pay Rs 9 for the same journey.
“Why would anyone want travel in private buses and pay Rs 60 when the same journey can be travelled by merely paying Rs 18? We have lost our regular commuters to a large extent,” he said.
“Even students who otherwise were paying half ticket (Rs 15) for the same journey are opting for passes,” he added.
Pereira said there are over 25,000 pass holders in the State and the number is rapidly increasing and most school students travel by school buses.
“We welcome government’s move to help public by introducing passes, school buses, etc. We don’t have anything against the government, as if we were not in this business, we also would have benefited from it like rest of the public.”
“But, given the fact that public bus transportation has not remained a profitable business anymore due to increasing fuel, tyres, spare parts and maintenance costs, it has become a bone of contention for very survival of our families,” said Pereira.
