The Puducherry Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) is a Government organization in the Union Territory of Puducherry, providing services for the whole of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahé and Yanam. PRTC, though the country’s smallest State Transport Undertaking (STU), is one of the most technically sound and forward-looking ones. In line with our coverage of various leading STUs in the country, we visited PRTC’s Head Office in Puducherry to meet Mr. Devarajan, Managing Director, PRTC, for an exclusive interaction.
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When did PRTC come into existence and which are the regions you cater to?
PRTC was established in 1986 and primarily operates out of Puducherry to Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu, apart from services to Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. We have our central presence in Puducherry with all our operations and maintenance work based out of the location. PRTC is the smallest STU in the whole of India and we have about 142 vehicles in our fleet.
Could you share details on the infrastructure you have for fleet maintenance?
We have facilities for repair and maintenance both at Puducherry and Karaikal. Most of the repair work is done in-house and all the regularly-used spares are stocked which helps us reduce the lead time. For accidents, we stock windshield and front facia spares to ensure the damage due to frontal collision is repaired quickly. For major body repairs, we send the vehicle to body builders. Since our fleet is small, we haven’t invested in a body building unit.
We have a fleet of Volvo buses which are taken care by a dedicated group of engineers who assist us well. This is done to ensure that proper care is taken to upkeep and run state-of-the-art buses as well.
We have a separate bus washing system to wash the vehicles regularly and this has received very good feedback from our customers.
In terms of technology adoption, where does PRTC stand?
We have recently introduced electronic ticketing machines for issuing tickets which we feel is a big step towards modernization. It reduces stress and eases ticket checking activity, especially since these machines are extremely good in terms of accounting and in eliminating pilferages. We have started using them in all our inter-city buses and will extend them to intra-city buses as well soon. We have fitted our complete fleet with GPS and have set up a dedicated control room to track bus movement. This enables us track and record the movement of the fleet and alerts us in case of any deviation from the actual route. The control room also monitors the operations and records various other vehicle parameters such as speed, direction, engine performance.
We use nitrogen-filled radial tyres that are periodically wheel aligned and balanced to deliver best results. Apart from GPS, we have also installed CCTV systems in our buses. The data is recorded in a DVR and are transferred to our data storage periodically. Though we have a small fleet, we intend to keep ourselves up to date with technology.
How strong is your workforce?
We have 650 people to maintain, run and operate our fleet. This includes bus operators, technicians and officers to manage the operations. We have a good team which has been vital in providing seamless connectivity. We have a dedicated training centre at our head office where we train them on various aspects of soft skills, technical know-how, etc. The OEMs also provide periodic training for our workforce.
How is PRTC’s revenue structure? Could you also brief us about your ticket fares and inter-state agreements?
We achieve revenues of close to Rs. 10 to 11 lakhs a day, with an annual income of close to Rs. 30 crores. While the Govt. of Puducherry decides the fare for intra-state routes, the inter-state fares depends on the states we intend to ply to. We receive subsidies from the government on an annual basis and as of now we do not have any additional revenue apart from the ticket sales, though we have plans to start with in-bus and bus-back advertisements.
75 per cent of our ticket sale happens online. We have agents to sell our tickets at various locations and in places like Tirupati, we have State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) helping us on this. We have signed inter-state agreements with Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka and have an agreement of running buses in the ratio 1:3, where, for 1 bus of ours, the other state can run 3 buses.
How have you utilised your JnNurm funds?
We have completely utilized the JnNurm funds in procuring new buses and modernizing our depots. Our goal is to connect all small towns and villages with our services and have launched mini buses recently through JnNurm. With the initiative receiving excellent response, we are looking to do more in future. We have roped in DIMTS, Delhi, to conduct a survey for us and in line with their recommendations we may plan for changes in the future in terms of procurement and operation of buses.
What are PRTC’s future plans and how do you see your Corporation moving forward?
PRTC is looking forward to expand its fleet by inducting AC buses as there is very good response for them. While AC buses are currently operated on key and primary routes such as Chennai – Puducherry, we intend to deploy them more in the inter-state routes. We have one of the youngest fleets in the country and intend to extend our reach to remote places going forward. Our goal is to ensure we reach every passenger and provide them convenient and comfortable travel at affordable costs.