Private operators surrender 12,000 buses as Covid-19 hits revenues

More than 12,000 private buses have been surrendered to the transport department over the last four months as owners seek to save the huge money of road tax.

‘Surrender’ is an option where an operator pays Rs 100, shows proof that a bus is not operational and submits registration certificate and other documents. Bus operators in Karnataka, struggling to pay EMIs and other expenses, are embracing the option to escape the road tax, which ranges from Rs 48,000 to Rs 2 lakh per quarter depending on the number of seats on a bus.

K Rajavarma Ballal, president, Karnataka Bus Owners' Federation, said the operators were facing financial crisis owing to the Covid-related travel restrictions. “We have lost too much already and surrendering vehicles is a desperate measure to save every rupee possible as the crisis is starting to bite at the roots,” he said.

The Unlock measure, he said, allows private bus services but operating the vehicles will only bring us more harm. "On a route where Rs 8,000 was the minimum revenue per day, we are getting about Rs 4,000 which is not even meeting the fuel expenses. At the same time, we don’t see a way out of this crisis,” he said.

Additional Commissioner for Transport Shivaraj B Patil confirmed that more than 12,000 buses had been surrendered. "The numbers are increasing as the owners and operators are afraid that low numbers of passengers will lead to losses,” he said.

Nataraj Sharma, chairman of the Karnataka State Travel Operators' Association, said Karnataka should follow Gujarat to waive the tax for the next six months to help travel operators find a balance between operational cost and revenue.

“The SoP says we can’t carry passengers beyond 50% of the capacity. Even if the tax is waived, we won’t really benefit. It just gives us a breathing time to learn to adjust to the new normal. Providing such incentives to our sector will still boost government revenue as we pay GST for the high amount of diesel and spare parts,” he said, admitting that convincing the public to choose buses over their own vehicles was a challenge.

As per the data from the transport department, 52,170 buses providing stage carriage (multiple stops) and contract carriage (origin-destination with no stoppage) have been registered in Karnataka. The association said less than 1,000 buses were functioning.

Radhakrishna Holla, president, KSTOA, said taxi operators were selling the cars and SUVs as paying EMIs had become impossible. “The taxi sector depends on the corporate sector. The slump in business and the work from home culture has taken away more than 75% of our business. The government should extend the moratorium on loans and save the operators,” he said.