ONGOLE: Ch Sambaiah from Maddipadu mandal was once a pride owner of five buses, which the APSRTC had hired, and earned close to Rs 6 lakh every month from them. Out of this amount, he used to spend Rs 2.5 lakh on EMIs, and another Rs 2.5 lakh to pay his employees’ salaries and for the maintenance of the buses. Since April, all his buses are stationed at an agriculture field near his house after the transportation sector came to a standstill.
Even after the Centre and state government relaxed the restrictions in various phases of the ‘Unlock’, Sambaiah has still not been able to put his buses back on track as the RTC is finding it difficult to operate its own fleet due to low occupancy.
Another bus owner from Kanigiri area allegedly committed suicide recently as he was unable to cope with the constant pressure by bankers and financial agencies to pay his monthly installments. He, too, had given his buses to the RTC on hire. In Prakasam, there are around 850 private buses that are operated, out of which the APSRTC had rented 185.
“Most of the bus owners who had rented their vehicles to the RTC are facing severe financial hardship as they don’t have a steady income since April. Banks and financial agencies are constantly pressurising them to pay their pending monthly installments,” Udaybhaskar, vice-president of district hired bus owners’ association said. G Vijaya Geeta, regional manager of the RTC in Ongole, said, “Occupancy ratio is slowly increasing, but we haven’t received orders regarding the hired buses yet.”