Devise mechanism for RTC reimbursement every month; BBVP tells CM

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Saying that the state government’s budget didn’t have the mentioning of how it has planned to reimburse tickets issued by the Road Transport Corporations, every month, activists from Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBVP), in a statement requests Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to devise a mechanism to ensure the reimbursement.

The CM, in his first revenue-deficit budget on Friday allocated Rs 2,800 crore for the Sakthi scheme, the free bus ride for women in the State.

With the fact that the RTCs are currently foregoing daily revenue, the activists said the government should devise a mechanism where the RTCs are reimbursed money they are forfeiting on account of the scheme, and this should be done on a monthly basis.

Citing examples of Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Punjab, the activists said these states have implemented the free travel schemes, and have a monthly reimbursement system in place.

“If there are any delays in the reimbursement, it will cause financial difficulties for the RTCs as they are foregoing daily revenue and won’t have funds for regular expenses”, read the statement of the activists.

While the rough data suggest that the city has more than 20,000 government buses, the activists said there is a need to expand the services and additional staff to the RTCs for the scheme to be achieving its objectives.

The statement also alleged the number of buses in the city in the last ten years has not increased despite the increase in the population and the number of private buses.

“The BMTC has 6,600 buses but only 5,500 are in service due to insufficient staff. Other RTCs are also in need of more buses and staff”, the activists added in the statement.

In addition, they said an additional Rs 600 crore has been given to KSRTC, NEKRTC and KKSRTC, adding this was not mentioned in the budget speech and is unclear whether it will be given to the RTCs.

“Without adequate service expansion, Shakti Yojana will not be able to deliver its full potential and benefit all regions and people equally”, they said.

However, the activists also alleged that the development plans for one city are problematic and no mention of the roads and transport of other cities were not fair.

“There are not many favourable schemes for the common people as far as transport is concerned. The government should aim for more equitable development of mobility across the state. With a focus on bus-based public transport, this is eminently possible without huge investments”, they added.