DTC on loss due to Gzad, Noida service termination

New Delhi, Feb 20: The Delhi Transport Corporation is incurring aloss of over Rs one crore per month due to the termination ofinter-state buses on Noida, Ghaziabad routes following the three-monthlong row between the governments of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

The corporation has already incurred a loss of more than Rs 3.40crore in the three months time, besides causing inconvenience to thecommuters.

Before the services were put on hold between Noida and Delhi, thecorporation was operating on bus eight routes including someinter-state buses to Agra, Himachal Pradesh, Nainital and Musoorie.

An analysis reveals that DTC was earning about Rs 6000 per dayfrom one single bus in 10 trips. Hence in 24 days, the organisation wasgetting Rs 1.44 lakh per month and from around six buses per route,revenue works out to Rs 8.64 lakh. This means with eight majorNoida-Delhi routes, DTC is losing Rs 69.12 (Rs 8,64,000 x 8) lakh permonth.

It is also losing Rs 11 lakh per month from the inter-state busservices. From Noida alone, it incurred Rs 2.40 crore (Rs 80 lakh x 3)loss in the three months.

About 40 buses plied each day on the Delhi-Ghaziabad routefetching the corporation a revenue of little over a Rs 1.2 lakh perday. DTC has been losing a net revenue of about Rs 36 lakh per monthand the loss for the three-months period works out to Rs 1.08 crore.

Noida and Ghaziabad have large number of small and ancillary unitsand are also emerging as a shopping hubs with large number of upcomingmalls. Industry body Assocham is of the view that due to impropertransportaiton facilities, the growth in the regions will adverselysuffer, bringing down their contribution to the states' exchequer.

Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said the employment lossesmay also magnify as commuting in these areas for large pool of skilledand unskilled labour would be a major problem, resulting into revenuelosses.

Residents of Noida, Ghaziabad and adjoining areas such asVaishali, Vasundhara, Hapur and Meerut are currently depending onprivate buses and commercial vehicles to reach their workplace.

Mr Rawat said the negotiations between transport authorities ofthe two states have not been able to reach any conclusion as they havechosen to stick to their respective stand, without budging an inchtowards compromise formula. This has invited large scale publiccriticism for Delhi and UP governments. Therefore conclusive effortsshould be put in by DTC management to solve the issue, since it issuffering massive losses.

If the current deadlock on movements of DTC buses is not resolvedquickly, the vested interests will multiply to put the loss making DTCto menacing proportion from where it would be difficult for it toregain its strength, the chamber said in a proposal to resume theservices being sent to Delhi and Uttar Pradesh governments.

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