Private bus operators in Karnataka stare at bleak future

BENGALURU: Private bus operators in Karnataka on Monday said their services saw a 50% dip in ridership within 24 hours of the launch of the 'Shakti' scheme that allows women to travel for free on state-run buses, with one distraught private operator saying he was contemplating suicide over this sudden, drastic dip in income.Nisar Ahmed, owner of KK Travels that operates out of the Kalasipalya Bus Stand in Bengaluru, said he had not earned a single rupee since Sunday, forcing him into suicidal thoughts."I have no money to give my staff. How will they feed their families? I also have no money to buy diesel for the trips planned for tomorrow and the following days. I am in a very bad state," he said.K Vikram, the general secretary of Karnataka Bus Owners' Federation, told TOI that members of the federation had reported that people across the state were found waiting for more than 30-40 minutes at local bus stands for state-run buses, ignoring the private buses parked nearby and ready to serve passengers. "They [women] now want to board only state buses, while we are running almost empty services," he added.V Geethesh, who operates private buses from Bengaluru to the neighbouring districts and other places, said: "On Monday, there were only 15 passengers on a private bus plying from Sidlaghatta to Bengaluru. The government should have restricted free bus travel for a few kilometres only. Applying it to entire state goes against the interest of [private] operators."He reasoned: "There are 10,000 private buses in the state and thousands of families rely on private operators. The government should extend free bus travel on buses run by private operators as well or provide us with a tax waiver to compensate for the loss."Private bus operators said they have to pay mandatory vehicle insurance premiums every three months and quarterly tax, too. A single change of tyre costs Rs 24,000 and due to the state of the roads, their buses require repairs and maintenance work after every few days. With dwindling passenger numbers, they are staring at a grim future.Akram, an agent working at Kalasipalya bus stand, told TOI: "Even if the 'Shakti' scheme is only for women, their families are also opting for state-run buses to benefit from a free ticket. So, we have not only lost women passengers, but men as well," he said.Vikram commented: "Our industry took a huge hit during the pandemic. With this new scheme we will be finished."Govt stands to lose tooKarnataka Bus Owners' Federation, that has more than 3,000 members across 18 districts, said it was paying about Rs 47,955 in road tax for each vehicle per quarter. "Multiply that into the 9,000 buses under our organisation and you have Rs 14.4 crore being paid to the state government every three months. If our industry drowns, it is not only us who will be the losers, but even the government will lose a major chunk of revenue," federation members said.