Bus operators peeved at exclusion from vaccine priority list

They demand relief package, interest-free loans for sector

Private bus operators have taken strong exception to crew members of approximately 12,500 private buses not being mentioned in the State government’s priority list for COVID-19 vaccination. George Joseph, who owns a fleet of buses that operate in the city, said Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus crew and even seafarers who hailed from the State had been included in the priority list. He expressed concern at the government not readying a relief package to save the private bus sector from crisis. A majority of buses have been forced to keep off the road for months together for want of patronage. “A few thousand bus operators submitted G-form to the Motor Vehicles Department [MVD] since they would otherwise have to remit hefty tax every quarter. Already, the annual insurance premium paid by most bus operators has gone waste since just a few buses were in operation. We bank our hopes on the Finance and Transport Ministers of the new government to help us through the crisis. Many bus owners like me availed loan to retrofit CNG kit in buses, to overcome the skyrocketing diesel price. Faced with dull patronage, it is an uphill task paying the monthly instalment,” he said.