Bleeding financially, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation, the lifeline of Chennai commuters, is struggling to provide adequate bus services due to shortage of bus drivers. It is learnt that MTC requires 8,487 drivers to operate 3,233 services. However, the corporation has only 7,885 drivers at its service.
According to official sources, due to shortage of drivers an average of 500 services are not being run daily. It is learnt that the shortage of drivers would increase by the end of this year when 35 are going to retire from service due to superannuation.
Following complaints over non-availability of adequate bus services, drivers are being insisted to perform extra duties on an average of Rs 835 per driver per shift as extra duty wages but permanent drivers are unwilling to put in extra hours as a result it is impacting scheduled services, sources said.
As a result state transport units drivers have been engaged for a period of four months on daily wage of Rs 800 plus collection bata per shift to operate scheduled services. Since the four month contract is to come to an end on October 2023, it is learnt that the board is likely to decide on extension of the driver services for a further period of time.
It is not only a shortage of manpower, MTC is struggling financially to ensure operation of its regular services in the city. With an accumulated loss of Rs 14,229.73 crore, MTC's current liabilities exceeds its current assets by 3845 crore. The total liabilities of MTC is 12,771 crore backed by assets of Rs 696 crore. A shortfall of assets worth Rs 12,075 crore is noticed, according to an audit report.
Similarly, employees recruited on or after April 1, 2004 come under contributory pension scheme where in the contribution by the employee is 10% of salary while matching contribution is made by MTC recovering 10% salary from its eligible employers. This is transferred to the Pension Fund Regulatory Authority. As on March 31, 2023, the dues on contributory pension scheme (employers and employees share) amounts to Rs 743 crore (in 2021-22 it was Rs 634.42 crore) in the book of accounts but payment has yet to be made following receipt of the government.
The government is also reimbursing MTC over the loss on issue of concessional tickets which comes to around Rs 876 crore. These include the women free travel concession which comes to Rs 528 crore, concession for students (Rs 317 crore), transgender free travel (Rs 30.70 lakh), Disabled and escort free travel (Rs 3.59 crore), Senior citizen tokens worth Rs 19.58 crore and concession for physically handicapped and journalist (Rs 6.75 crore).
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