STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The loss-making ASTC (Assam State Transport Corporation) has started the process to lease out its vehicles that are off the roads.
The corporation has adopted such a policy for three main reasons: revenue generation, providing employment avenues to a section of the state’s population, and easing the public transport system in the state.
According to ASTC sources, it has examined its vehicle status throughout the state and found that the repair of 222 of its off-the-road buses is not commercially viable. These vehicles have been lying idle for a few years, mostly in Guwahati. Leaving these buses idle for longer will only make them salable as scrap. This has prompted the corporation to take this policy decision, and the government has approved it.
After the approval, ASTC started the bidding process for leasing out the buses today. The corporation will lease out the buses to the highest bidders to run the vehicles under the banner of ASTC. If this policy becomes successful, the corporation will think about leasing out more off-road vehicles.
ASTC incurs over Rs 100 crore in losses annually. Its earnings were about Rs 80 crore in 2021–22, as compared to a net expenditure of Rs 186 crore. It needs around Rs 100 crore annually on the salary head. The corporation has a fleet of over 600 buses.
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