an exchange with Ms K

Hi Ms K

I am not asking BMTC to be privatised. I am asking for BMTC's monopoly regime to be dismantled by facilitating entry of reputed Corporate players into public bus transport services sector, in competition with BMTC, even if on a field slightly sloped favouring BMTC, all duly regulated (not controlled) by a properly constituted agency.

As the co-Chairman of BMTC's Commuter Comfort Task Force, I had also made numerous suggestions. They are interested only to the extent of the publicity that it gets them, and after that, it's business as usual.

Competition and competition alone can change things. And, Madame, the cost of its inefficiency and incapacity is huge on the city, and particularly on the urban poor whose cause you otherwise so admirably represent.

Regards, Muralidhar Rao

On 8/23/07, Ms K wrote:

Hi Murali

Recently BMTC announced that it would give all its employees a share in the holdings and allow ordinary people also to buy BMTC shares. I think this is a better move than privatisation - a move towards public-people-partnership rather than public-private-partnership.

You were on BMTC's task-force. You must have heard of Mr. Parameswaran's ideas about feeder and trunk route systems to make BMTC buses quick and reliable. According to his plan one could get a bus from any point every five minutes. With this plan, buses would not come empty one behind the other or not come at all for hours together as is happening now. What's wrong with this idea? Why not support it?

Regards, K

On 8/23/07, Muralidhar Rao wrote:

Hi Ms K

I read the 'urban transport policy' document through and through. It substantiates the points I have been repeatedly making, particularly at para's 23, 24, 53, & 54.

More pertinently, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India, had long before displayed a report on 'Bus Transport Systems' on its website (www.petroleum.nic.in/ch_15.pdf), salient excerpts from which are re-produced below:

1) Promoting public bus transport should be viewed as a priority in any strategy to improve urban road traffic and in controlling air pollution from automobiles. The country can ill afford the luxury of unchecked growth of private vehicle population. The costs to the country's economy in terms of higher fuel consumption and to the society in terms of health are significant enough to warrant urgent action.
2) Clearly, there is a strong case for promoting private enterprise in meeting transport needs in urban areas.
3) An aspect of public policy that impacts on provision and expansion of public transport either by state owned utilities or by private entrepreneurs, relates to the unviable fare structures imposed by the authority.
4) With improved efficiency, the fare structure can continue to remain low while still providing for overall viability of the operations.

You want a good public bus transport system, and you want the government monopoly BMTC to provide it. For any monopoly to do a good job is like asking for the moon, and for a govt monopoly to do it is like asking for the entire galaxy. Also, no point bringing in the private sector and imposing all kinds of restrictions on it - the result will be Delhi's notorious BLUE-LINE. Unless we change our mind-set over such issues, we will remain stuck for viable solutions, and the Revanna's will rule the roost.

Perhaps you should facilitate Oberoi's getting into providing efficient, non-polluting and cost-effective public bus services before venturing into cleaning up our lakes.

Muralidhar Rao

unshackling the bus transport services sector

text of the letter sent to the press:

Finally, one government, that of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, has realised that as important an infrastructure sector service as 'public bus transport' cannot continue to remain in the hands of the un-organised sector, and has instead to be served by the organised sector. Towards this, the government has now sent out notices inviting EOP (expression of interest) from companies, co-op societies, etc for operating stage-carriage services. And, one of the stipulations is that they should come in with a minimum fleet size of 100 buses.

The NCT transport department needs to be complimented for taking this bold step. But, this is only the first step, and a few more need to be taken if the intended results are to be achieved. They are freedom to choose the routes, and freedom to fix fares. Though, initially, this may lead to a bit of a confusion, within months, things will sort themselves out, and a large part of the traffic problems as well as many of the other problems will also get sorted out. And, very likely you will also have a fare regime lower than that of the DTC, even.

Simultaneously, the government could also think of introducing the congestion tax in the CBDs, maybe in phases.