‘Relaxed speed limits can only boost revenue for govt buses’

The proposal by the Villupuram division of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Commission (TNSTC) to reduce fares for the public commuting in its 700-strong fleet from Friday in a bid to boost seat occupancy rates has been met with skepticism by the public who feel that it would succeed only if the speed of the vehicles is increased. .

Official sources from the TNSTC announced that fares for the 2+2 seater buses would see a fare reduction between Rs 15 and Rs 25 while that for 2+3 seater buses, it will range between Rs 10 and Rs 15.

The move gains importance in view of Transport Minister MR Vijayabhaskar announcing in a recent State Assembly sitting that seat occupancy in government buses was only 60 per cent.

However, talks with a cross section of travellers revealed that apart from the fare, what ailed the TNSTC and SETC buses was a lack of speed.

Vellore Consumers Federation president K Sathiyamoorthy said, “The reason why the public move on to private bus despite its high fare is because of speed.”

Citing an example, he said, “The time taken for a SETC bus to commute between Vellore and Tiruchy is 6 hours, but in reality, it is usually 7 hours.

Whereas an omni bus, which charges more, takes only five hours, sometimes even less despite the stops.”

MR Balachander, president, Phase III Residents Welfare Association said, “There is no use in the government announcing a reduction of fares when it will be increased again. We are not asking buses to fly, but just increase the speed to 90 kmph. This will reduce travel time and the fatigue experienced by passengers.”

Similarly, P Jayaprakash of Pernambut, said, “It is a wonder why the government buses with all the facilities is unable to provide quality service to passengers. Though the cheap rates offered by the TNSTC and the SETC should make passengers prefer them, they travel by private buses instead.”

“The government could conduct an experiment for three months by increasing the speed of government buses. They can then check the expenditure for diesel and spares against the revenue earned as the idea will give clarity. If this step is undertaken, it will be easy for the government to know why TNSTC/SETC fail to generate revenue,” Sathiyamoorthy further said.