PRTC’s Bathinda depot suffers Rs18 lakh loss daily

Sameer Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 22

With interstate bus services snapped for over 10 days now and buses running with 50 per cent passenger capacity on local and inter-district routes amid restrictions imposed in the wake of Covid, the PRTC has been suffering huge losses on a daily basis.

As per data procured from the PRTC Bathinda depot, the corporation has been bearing a loss of around Rs 16 to Rs 18 lakh on a daily basis from just one depot. The data revealed that prior to the launch of free travel scheme for women in the state, the PRTC Bathinda depot was on an average garnering revenue of Rs 21 lakh on a daily basis. Once the scheme was implemented, both passenger base and revenue saw a substantial increase. The daily revenue notched up to Rs 29 lakh to Rs 30 lakh on a daily basis. But after a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases, inter-state routes to five states in the region were discontinued for an indefinite period recently. The daily revenue saw a sharp decline since then.

A senior official of the PRTC said if one depot was suffering losses of Rs 18 lakh on a daily basis then the overall losses of all depots in the states could be pegged at crores of rupees.

Raman Sharma, general manager, PRTC, Bathinda depot, said, “Our daily revenue had increased after the launch of free travel scheme for women, but now with inter-state bus services discontinued completely, except Haryana, and buses plying with less passengers on local as well as inter-district routes, our losses are mounting with each passing day.”