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Coronavirus effect: Civic buses run empty as most stay home
Thane Municipal Transport buses have been plying empty for the past few days after schools, colleges, malls and theatres shut because of coronavirus outbreak.
Thane Municipal Transport buses have been plying empty for the past few days after schools, colleges, malls and theatres shut because of coronavirus outbreak.
The daily footfalls of the civic buses have decreased from 2 lakh commuters to 1.60 lakh commuters. The revenue of the transport body too has decreased by ₹5 lakh a day.
An official from TMT said, “We earn a daily revenue of ₹26 to ₹27 lakh while over three lakh commuters travel in the bus daily. However, with the recent coronavirus outbreak, most people are at home. On Monday, the number of commuters was around 1.60 lakh. The revenue earned was ₹21 lakh. We underwent losses of ₹5 to ₹6 lakh.”
With the increase in the number of Covid 19 cases in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the state government closed down schools, colleges and educational institutes and has appealed to people to avoid unnecessary travel. Social and commercial events are also cancelled. This has led to a decrease in number of people travelling by TMT buses.
The transport body earns ₹21 lakh to ₹22 lakh on Sunday as it is a holiday. On March 15, the earning was ₹15 lakh as malls and theatres were shut. The revenue on Saturday was ₹20 lakh.
The official said, “We have given proper instructions to drivers and conductors to use masks and hand sanitisers. We have also told employees that those having symptoms such as cold, cough or fever should stay at home or consult a doctor. We have stopped using biometric attendance.”
Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) buses too saw a drastic fall in passengers.
Coronavirus outbreak has led to a drastic fall in the number of NMMT commuters.
Officials said the numbers had dropped by around 25% this week. The administration is planning reduction of some services.
Apart from Navi Mumbai, NMMT provides services to Kalyan, Dombivli, Thane, Uran, Panvel and Mumbai.
NMMT had lost out on commuters earlier after BEST reduced its fare. The further reduction now in the number of passengers has reduced the daily revenue by ₹5 lakh to ₹8 lakh.
NMMT earns around ₹35 lakh daily from ticket sales. Around 3 lakh commuters travel by NMMT daily. The figure has come down to just over 2 lakh a day.
NMMT general manager Shirish Aradwad said, “The number of passengers has reduced as the schools and colleges have shut while many employees have been asked to work from home. People are not going out of home. So, NMMT’s revenue is ₹5 lakh to ₹8 lakh less.”
NMMT buses are running almost empty on several routes. “The administration is hence considering curtailing some services to save on operating and fuel costs,” he said.
Aradwad said buses are safe for commuters. “As a precautionary measure, the administration is getting the buses sanitised thrice a day.”
