Commuters urge MTC to be transparent on insurance cess

Activists stress that the corporation should clarify on where the insurance amount is deposited, as it is duty bound to make commuters aware about the entire process. The MTC operates 3,200 buses catering to more than 40 lakh passengers every day. After facing a severe fund crunch, which also led to an eight-day strike by transport workers, the department had hiked bus fares on January 20. 

While doing so, it introduced a cess for accident compensation, toll fee and accident preventive measures. MTC insiders told DT Next that an amount of Rs 30 to 40 lakh is collected every day on an average after the cess was introduced.  

Acknowledging there is a question mark over whether the amount is properly deposited under its intended account, a source in MTC headquarters said there is a high possibility that those sums might be used to compensate the corporation’s financial loss. ‘Citizen’ Senthil, a city-based RTI activist, said there is ignorance in the public about the insurance cess. 

“The officials concerned should paste a copy of the relevant Government Order (GO) in every bus. Further, tickets carrying the information must be printed by MTC.” When contacted, a senior MTC official, who preferred anonymity, said the insurance cess is collected and deposited properly. He strongly denied that insurance amount will be used to compensate their losses.