The Hindu Business Line : `MSRTC likely to post profits this year'

Pune April 20 The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), which expects to turn the corner this year after nearly a decade in the red, will add 2,000 buses, including hi-tech Chinese buses to its fleet over the next one year.

The beleaguered corporation that has been operating at a mere 58 per cent of its carrying capacity of a crore passengers per day, and posted a loss of Rs 37 crore during the 2005-06 fiscal, expects to make a profit of Rs 10 crore during 2006-07, its Chairman, Mr Sudhakar Paricharak, said.

To stem the trend of private operators eating into their business, the MSRTC had announced several initiatives beginning last October under its `Pravasi Vadhva, ST Vadhva drive'. These included planning package tours, purchase of 60-65 seater buses for shorter routes and incentive schemes for depot employees. Mr Paricharak said that these have resulted in an additional three-lakh customers per day using the services and added Rs 60 crore to the topline in three months.

The corporation added 1,250 new buses to its fleet during the last financial year and expects to add 2,000 more this fiscal. Amongst these are 20 Kinglon buses that will be built by the Chandigarh-based JCBL to cater to the high-end traveller. It currently owns and operates 20 Volvo buses in this segment.

During 2005-06, the MSRTC carried a passenger load of 212.94 crore and earned a revenue of Rs 2,832.41 crore. The comparable figures for the last fiscal were 217.08 crore and Rs 3,046.56 crore respectively. It has a current fleet of 15,500 buses and runs 85,000 trips daily.

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`MSRTC likely to post profits this year'