Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) charges have not been raised over the last four years and the company will soon submit its proposals to increase bus fares by 7.5 percent annually with a total of 30 percent.

Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the APSRTC, NV Surendra Babu spoke at a press conference in Vijayawada on Friday stating that the immediate requirement of Rs 3,717.95 crore was included in the 2019-20 budget, adding that the RTC would not be able to recur from the losses unless it is provided financial assistance.

He said, "With the hike in the Diesel prices, the RTC is incurring losses of Rs 650 crore annually. In the year 2015-16, the company had a loss of Rs 735 crore and in the year 2016-17, the loss was Rs 789 crore. In the year 2017-18, the RTC suffered losses of Rs 1,209 crore."

Surendra Babu further elaborated, "The loans from various banks along with other liabilities, like provident fund, leave encashment arrears, etc stood at Rs 6,445 crore. The corporation is suffering losses of Rs 1,409 crore due to Telugu Velugu buses. Rs 666 crores is required to replace the old buses with 1,666 new buses. The buses are undergoing loss of Rs 6.53 for every kilometer. In the form of Motor Vehicle (MV) tax, RTC management is paying the state government Rs 1,409 crore per annum."

Surendra Babu recalled that the RTC achieved 78 percent occupancy ratio (OR) in 2018-19 and the company has increased revenue through internal savings measures.

The MD said, "In the year 2018, the RTC received Rs 554 crore from the government. The government should bear the losses caused by the Telugu Velugu buses and also waiver the MV tax."

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