Maharashtra State Transport (ST) Corporation has been incurring huge losses for the last several years, and keeping the same in mind, officials from the corporation have decided to implement several measures to recover the same. Reports state that the department is currently facing a crisis due to the hike in fuel prices, whereby services were impacted due to the increase in petrol and diesel.
Acting upon the same, the corporation, on January 9, 2021, decided to increase freight rates by INR 4 per km. The new hike will take effect from Monday, January 11, 2021.
According to the new rates, freight rates will be INR 42 per km. Diesel is supplied to the corporation by two major fuel companies. Since the corporation is a wholesaler, the rates change every fortnight and this has been adding concerns for the officials. The corporation consumes 1 lakh litres of diesel per day and INR 3,000 crore is allocated annually for the purchase of diesel.
Lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak has also been another reason for the decision, as the passenger traffic was closed during the lockdown. The corporation started freight to generate revenue, and currently, the department is operating more than 62,000 rounds garnering an income of over INR 35 crore.
However, as diesel prices continue to rise, the corporation has finally decided to increase freight rates. At present, the following guidelines are being referred by the ST corporation, and the necessary changes would follow