Bhubaneswar: Odisha Transport Department suggested a wet lease procedure for inclusion of private players for better management of buses operating under the state-owned Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) and to bring down operational losses, said a source in the government Wednesday.
The secretary of commerce and transportation Anil Kumar Parija wrote a letter to general manager of OSRTC Biskeshan Dehury in this regard following a high-level meeting January 12 to review various issues of the corporation.
“An agreement may be made with a private partner for payment of premium to reimburse losses in non-profitable routes. OSRTC will give a detailed presentation about the increase in fleet size. It is requested not to keep any buses idle.” the letter said.
OSRTC has been asked to review the procedure used by Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), which operates ‘Mo Bus’ service, and to consider it further before buying new buses to bring its fleet size to 1000, the source added.
OSRTC currently operates a fleet of about 636 buses, out of which 478 buses are currently on the road, 77 are being repaired, and 53 are slated for condemnation.
As a result, OSRTC operates with about 5 per cent of the state’s total number of buses. These buses run on 317 different routes, the source informed.
PNN