Maharashtra: State Transport body earns revenue of 941 crore in November

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Thanks to a record surge in the number of passengers during the Diwali 2024 festive period, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) earned Rs 941 crore, its highest revenue, in November.

Last month, MSRTC ferried an average of 60 lakh passengers per day, and earned a revenue of around Rs. 31.36 crore on a daily basis. This is 26 per cent higher than the revenue recorded during the same month last year.

"Last year, the fare was hiked by 10 per cent during Diwali. The record increase in revenue amid the absence of fare hike this year is a reflection of the trust shown by the common passengers in ST," said MSRTC Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Dr Madhav Kusekar.

Although the revenue generated has increased, MSRTC's expenditure has also surged. The increase in fuel prices, salaries of employees, price of tyres and spare parts have adversely affected the MSRTC's expenditure, a press released issued by Abhijit Bhosale, the Public Relations Officer of MSRTC, said.

The expenditure has caused an estimated loss of Rs 11 lakh to the corporation despite the surge in the passenger count. "In addition to the regular expenses during the month of November, the Diwali bonus to the employees has put an additional burden of about Rs 52 crore on the ST exchequer. At the same time, thousands of crores of rupees of arrears of increased wages of employees are pending. Considering all this, the ST has decided to increase the ticket rates to maintain a balance between income and expenditure, and has sent a proposal to the government," the press release said.

In August, MSRTC earned a profit of Rs 16.86 crore, after reeling under severe financial crises for the past five-six years. It was for the first time after nine years that MSRTC had earned a profit.

In a press release, MSRTC had stated that 20 out of its 31 departments had earned profit in August.

MSRTC was financially crippled for two years owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and the long-term strike of employees for six months. There were also concerns of the state-run corporation shutting down.

However, from May 2022 onwards, the state-run corporation began taking some steps to bring about changes.

One of the major challenges was to divert the reduced passenger load to MSRTC. For this purpose, the state government launched two schemes: free travel on all types of buses for citizens above 75 years of age and 50 percent concession on tickets for women passengers. These schemes led to a huge increase in the number of passengers on MSRTC buses, with an average of 54 lakh passengers travelling by the state-run buses every day, the release stated.