Bangalore: Transport minister, Ramalinga Reddy , replying to a question in the Assembly, put by Congress MLA V S Ugrappa said, that the Volvo service made a profit of Rs 22.33 crore in 2011-12, Rs 8.39 crore in 2012-13, and a loss of Rs 15.88 crore in 2013-14.
Till May in 2014-15, it had recorded a profit of Rs 3 crore. BMTC operated 654 Volvo buses on 90 routes within city limits, and an additional 69 buses to the Kempegowda International Airport. On an average, every day 23 passengers travel in each trip of Volvo bus as against the seat capacity of 40.
BMTC officials blame increasing diesel prices for the loss. They also blame the hike in salary of BMTC staff. However, according to officials, the loss suffered by Volvo services is way less compared to the Rs 130 crore loss incurred by ordinary buses. Operation of ordinary buses is mandatory, no matter whether they are profitable or not as they are essential for the public
Last year, 110 air-conditioned buses inducted into the fleet and introduced on new routes. For several months these routes had a poor response. Now according to the officials, they have stabilized. It is important however, that Non IT Routes pick up air-conditioned traffic to improve the profitability of the Volvo segment of operations.
Among the steps taken by the BMTC to overcome losses are an embargo on procuring air-conditioned buses, and provide route information online for the benefit of passengers.