TN OMNICON 3.0 was an eye-opener event held in Chennai that highlighted the challenges faced by bus operators and the way towards making the sector profitable.
The All Omni Bus Owners Association (AOBOA) recently organised a major event known as TN OMNICON 3.0 at MGM Beach Resorts, ECR, Chennai on September 27-28, 2022. This was the first ever major event physically organised after the pandemic and it attracted participants from among bus operators in huge numbers. Dr. A Anbalagan, President, All Omni Bus Owners Association, welcomed the gathering and thanked the delegates, members of the association and the sponsors for their spontaneous support to make TN OMNICON 3.0 a grand success.
K Thangaraj, President, Federation of Bus Operators Associations of Tamil Nadu and advisor t the Bus and Car Operators Confederation of India (BOCI), in his special address, spoke about his 40-year-long successful association with the federation which is currently 50 years old and celebrating its golden jubilee. Prasanna Patwardhan, President, Bus and Car Operators Confederation of India (BOCI), in his keynote address, enlightened the august gathering by outlining the present status and the future prospects of road transport in India.
Ever since the pandemic hit normal life all over India, many bus operators have shut down their activities and banks have taken the possession of vehicles financed by them. However, the coming days are going to be good for the industry and this has been very well proved with the record number of participation at the recently held Prawaas 3.0 exhibition in Hyderabad. He also appealed to the bus operators’ fraternity to remain positive and emerge stronger. More importantly, all of us should focus on change in technology, business model and customer service while staying united, he added.
While referring to the country’s bus scenario, Patwardhan pointed out during the last 10 years there has been a significant drop in bus travel all over India including Tamil Nadu. Out of 19 lakh buses operated in India, only 150,000 are from state transport undertakings (STUs) and the rest are operated by private operators. Even today in India, 90% of the passengers use road transportation mainly due to point-to-point connectivity and private operators are the major source of transportation.
“Considering the increasing use of road transportation, the government should increase the expenditure on road infrastructure as compared to railway transport. Further, since Tamil Nadu has excellent opportunity and potential to promote tourism as part of its environment, the government should encourage more and more bus transportation from the private sector. Today, the government receives around Rs 25,000 per bus by way of GST collection and states like Tamil Nadu should reduce the tax which will pave way for more buses to operate and create employment generation,” Patwardhan stated.
“A bus should be looked as a source of transportation rendering service to the common public,” he added. Thiru S S Sivasankar, Minister for Transport, Government of Tamil Nadu, in his inaugural address, appealed to private bus operators to work closely with the government and assured all his support for their better future. He also presented the awards for various category winners on the occasion. The event also witnessed a presentation by Mallawa Ventures, the company which has recently entered into manufacturing hydrogen-powered buses.