KSRTC saves Rs 75 lakh a day by buying diesel from private outlets

By Nischith N | NT

Bengaluru: Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) claims that its recent move to refuel its buses at private outlets is helping it save Rs 75 lakh per day on diesel.

The corporation had started this exercise two weeks ago, after the oil marketing companies decided to charge market rate for diesel bought by bulk users. This has helped KSRTC save nearly Rs 14 on a litre of diesel. The current price of diesel for bulk users like KSRTC is Rs 107 a litre, as against Rs 94.79 at private outlets.

The corporation has said this measure will continue till the oil marketing companies reduce the rate of diesel for bulk buyers.

“The pandemic had already drained the corporation, and this hike in fuel price was a new challenge. So we instructed all the drivers to get buses filled with diesel at private bunks to save money. But now we have learnt that per day we can save up to Rs 75 lakh. This is a huge relief for the corporation which was running under loss,” a senior KSRTC official said. A KSRTC report claims that refuelling at general petrol stations has not affected the bus schedules across the state, but the drivers are complaining that their working hours have increased.

On an average across the state KSRTC division required 557 KL of diesel a day. “It has been two weeks after our buses began filling in private bunks. The refuelling is being done at outlets located close to the depots. So far, there has not been any disruption in service because of the new arrangement, as buses were being given priority during refuelling at petrol stations. We are saving up to Rs 75.26 lakh per day, which means we have saved almost Rs 10 crore in two weeks,” said V. Anbukkumar, Managing Director, KSRTC.

The tender for supplying diesel to KSRTC and BMTC buses is executed by HPCL. HPCL has tied up with MRPL to supply these two transport corporations. The company supplies around 50,000 kilolitres of diesel per month .