The Bus & Car Operators Confederation of India (BOCI) and the Delhi Contract Bus Association have sought Government intervention to save the sector from a total collapse.
The corona outbreak, they said, has severely impacted the passenger transport segment in North India, particularly in Delhi-NCR. They have urged the Government to consider waiver of road and passenger taxes for the next three quarters, deferment of tax payments and extension of vehicle insurance validity.
Among their other demands are: deferment of EMI payments for next six to 12 months and waiving of the Interest component for the deferred period; discount of 10 pc to 25 pc on toll tax and invocation of fast tags.
The Bus & Car Operators Confederation of India (BOCI) represents private passenger transport operators and has over 17 lakh operational buses on roads, out of which about 1.50 lakh are operated by various STUs. The remaining 15.5 lakh buses are run by private operators and they are members of various associations and federations affiliated to the BOCI.
Mr Harish Shabhawal, General Secretary, Delhi Contract Bus Association & V-P North, BOCI, New Delhi, said that ‘The Government has taken steps to support the economy through various schemes and actions. However, they have not addressed the public transport sector. The research units of road sector are continually keeping a tab on the deteriorating condition of this sector. More than one crore people are directly or indirectly dependent on this sector. But due to pandemic, financial crisis in the passenger transport segment has reached its peak. Unless the Government provides timely and necessary support to the sector, the whole ecosystem stands the risk of collapse.” Mr. Prasanna Patwardhan, President, BOCI, said, “Due to COVID-19 pandemic, transport sector has been severely affected and we have suffered huge financial losses. Now the operators have no money to continue operations for the coming months and are on the verge of collapse. We urge the Government to provide relief by deferring various taxes for a period of six to twelve months for all operators and provide diesel at subsidised rates.”