Facing deep financial crisis due to onset of COVID-19 pandemic, Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) had started goods transport by converting several of its buses. However, it has come to fore that despite the effort, its revenue from goods transport has been steadily dwindling. MSRTC’s response to city-based activist Abhay Kolarkar’s application under Right to Information (RTI) Act reveals that the corporation converted 1,124 of its buses into goods carriage vehicles. The passenger-carrying capacity of these buses had expired and hence these were converted into goods transport vehicles. As its operations were severely affected due to onset of COVID-19, MSRTC started goods transport since May 20, 2020, in a bid to revive its financial condition.

 

Interestingly, the response to query under RTI Act reveals, MSRTC posted good revenue in the first financial year since starting goods transport. During May 2020 and March 2021, its buses made 81,684 trips covering distance of 1,18,59,407 km, clocking revenue of Rs 47.38 crore. This was the time when COVID-19 had affected life severely, but goods transport had kept the wheels of economy running. However, as per the data, when the impact of COVID-19 pandemic started subsiding, MSRTC’s revenue from goods transport dropped a bit in 2021-22 to Rs 43.95 crore, which it earned through 67,948 trips covering a distance of 90,72,185 km. But, the downward trend continued even as life returned to normalcy the following year. In 2022-23, MSRTC buses engaged in goods transport could make only 38,948 trips covering a distance of 52,78,136 km, earning it a scaled-down revenue of only Rs 31.16 crore. Compared to the first year of starting goods transport operations, MSRTC’s revenue, thus, registered a drop by almost 35 per cent. In the current financial year 2023-24, in the first two months of April and May 2023, MSRTC’s goods transport buses made just 5,639 trips covering a distance of 7,50,867 km, and earned a revenue of Rs 5.01 crore. If this average continues, MSRTC may earn slightly over Rs 30 crore revenue by the end of the financial year.