Even as the State government has made a slew of announcements to usher in green mobility, private bus operators are complaining that they have been kept out of the loop.
Already, the number of private buses in Kerala is down from 35,000 over 15 years ago to around 12,500 now. This is mainly due to the steep rise in operational expenses, including fuel, spare parts, tyres, road tax or insurance. “We were resting hope on the State and Central governments to avail subsidy to purchase electric buses and to retrofit CNG kits in diesel-run buses. Sadly, we have been left in the lurch,” said K.B. Suneer, general secretary of Ernakulam District Private Bus Operators’ Association.
CNG kits
Retrofitting CNG kits, as was done recently in a private bus in the city, is a cost-effective option, since it costs ₹4 lakh. There is a price difference of ₹15 between the cost of one-litre of diesel and one-kg of CNG. The installation cost can be recouped in just over a year. However, the long-term and sustainable option is electric buses, which cost over ₹1 crore apiece, he said, adding that government help was vital since private players could not afford to bear the entire expense of owning such buses. Government sops for e-vehicles were very low in Kerala as compared with other States, he said.
A public limited company mooted by private bus operators on the lines of the Cochin International Airport Limited to help avail of government subsidy too is nowhere near realisation.
Congestion on roads
Bus operators have been critical of the government limiting incentives to roll out electric-powered cars, and two and three-wheelers. They expressed the fear that this would worsen congestion on roads and further reduce the number of public transport buses in the State.
Referring to the mention of subsidies for e-autos, electric/CNG transport buses and KSEB charging stations in the State budget, Mr. Suneer expressed concern at there being no mention of private buses. “Bus operators have been meted out a raw deal. The 10% lowering of tax is a pittance and it will not exceed ₹15,000 a year even for big busees,” he said.
Responding to the zero tax for e-autos for five years and limiting of tax for electric cars and two-wheelers to 5 per cent, Rajwanth Ben, who co-owns a dealership in the city for cars, said States such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka had announced major sops to encourage customers to shift to electric vehicles. “After all, electric vehicles, including cars, have less than 5% of the market share of vehicles. The government would not incur any loss, considering social benefits such as fall in the pollution levels when people shift from fossil fuels,” he said.
