RTCs’ recovery path looks bleak

After suffering revenue loss of over ₹4,000 crore, second wave poses further threat

The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown hit road transport corporations badly. Even when restrictions eased and the number of cases started to drop towards the end of 2020, RTCs were unable to bounce back. In the last one year, the four corporations – KSRTC, BMTC, NEKRTC and NWKRTC – suffered a revenue loss of over ₹4,000 crore. The second wave of the pandemic poses a further threat to their revenue. Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) Managing Director Shivyogi C. Kalasad said, “In December 2020, COVID-19 positive cases started dropping. At the time, we hoped to recover from pandemic-induced losses, but now cases are surging again. Long-distance buses, especially inter-State services, continue to suffer heavy losses. Our buses are returning from Maharashtra and Kerala with hardly any passengers.”