Guwahati, Oct. 8: Dispur’s efforts to revive the state-owned Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) have gone for a toss with the corporation incurring losses to the tune of Rs 6,473.85 lakh between financial years 2005-06 and 2009-10.

An official source said a decade has passed since the state government initiated a revival and revitalisation programme in April 2000 to give a new lease of life to the ailing PSU, but till date the corporation has not yet been able to break even.

He said some of the primary reasons for the ASTC not yet being able to revive its flagging fortunes are running of buses on uneconomic routes, non-remunerative fare structure and excess staff in comparison to the number of buses on the road. Other factors like stiff competition from the private sector and railways and lack of control over private bus operators operating under the ASTC banner, including non-recovery of penalty from such buses, are also acting as a hindrance for the corporation.

According to official records updated in July this year, the corporation has 1,631 buses, of which 314 are its own while the remaining 1,317 are private buses operating under the ASTC’s banner.

Of the total number of buses, 271 of the corporation’s own vehicles and 1,297 private buses were in running condition.

The source said the ASTC had incurred a loss of Rs 1,373.35 lakh in 2005-06, Rs 1,335.95 lakh in 2006-07, Rs 1,313.85 lakh in 2007-08, Rs 1248.10 lakh in 2008-09 and Rs 1,202.60 lakh in 2009-10.

“In this period (from 2005-06 to 2009-10), the total earning of the corporation was Rs 18,090.75 lakh, of which Rs 11,421 lakh was the earning from the ASTC’s own buses while Rs 6,668.96 lakh was the earning from private buses running under its banner,” he said.

In August 2001, the corporation introduced a scheme under which private buses were allowed to operate under the ASTC banner on routes approved by the corporation on a revenue sharing basis.

The source said the corporation has foregone several crores of rupees as it failed to recover penalty from the private bus operators under its banner for not performing according to the agreement. “Another reason for the corporation not being able to break even is its excess staff compared to the number of buses, (2,300 employees against 271 buses on road),” he said.

The general secretary of State Transport Workers’ Association, Khurshid Alam, said it was unfair to compare the state-owned corporation with private operators.

“You must appreciate the fact that the ASTC’s primary objective is to provide service to the people and unlike private operators, making profit is not our sole motive as we have a social obligation to discharge,” he said.

Alam said the ASTC buses were plying on certain routes, on which private operators do not run their buses as these routes were not economically viable.

He said though the corporation has a long way to go as far as making profit is concerned, today its financial status has improved. “In Karnataka the government has given 3,000 new buses to the state transport corporation in a year but never here in Assam.”

, the ASTC has never in its history got even a 1,000 new buses in a year. So, in my view it will not be fair to compare our performance with that of transport corporations in developed states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra,” he said.