Pandemic deprives APSRTC of its festival revenue

Sankranti earnings fell from ₹22 cr. in 2020 to ₹13 cr. this time in State: official

Even as the cases are on the decline, the impact of the pandemic continues to be felt on many sectors. Bearing the brunt is the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation(APSRTC), which, despite the festive season, has reported a sharp decline in revenues this Sankranti compared to last year.

While the corporation had earned ₹22 crore in the State during Sankranti holidays in 2020, it has registered ₹13 crore this time. In Anantapur, the RTC operated 108 buses earning ₹37.09 lakh compared to last year’s ₹1.16 crore.

“We had covered 2.78 lakh kilometers around this time last year. After the pandemic began, the demand fell flat. However, we are slowly recovering now,” Anantapur RTC Regional Manager Sumanth R. Adoni told The Hindu. The occupancy ratio in the 2020 calendar year fell to 68% from 80% in 2019.

The corporation operated buses on 950.12 lakh km and earned ₹292.39 crore in 2019. The earnings fell to ₹110.99 crore in 2020 when the buses covered 362.20 lakh km. Earning per kilometer also marginally fell from ₹30.77 to ₹30.61.

Slow rise in demand

Despite a slow increase in demand post lockdown, the RTC has restored services on 320 routes out of 350 in Anantapur, and out of 865 schedules, 742 are operational, he added. Out of 195 hired vehicle schedules, 182 have been restored, while accounting for an overall 86% of services.

Lack of train services to Tirupati and Vijayawada has given an opportunity to the RTC to increase its number of buses from 28 in pre-COVID times to 36 for Tirupati and from 30 to 34 for Vijayawada.

Referring to the recent video on social media, where girls from Nagireddypalli and Pillapalli requested buses to their school in Brahmasamudram, Mr. Sumanth said there were eight services between Kalyandurg and Brahmasamudram, with 100% concession for girls and 65% concession for boys. All the services were restored and are running for the benefit of students during their school timings, he said.

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