Covid-19 has led to 2 million job losses in bus, taxi sector: BOCI
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BOCI claims to represent 20,000 operators with 1.5 million buses and maxi-cabs and 1.1 million tourist taxis providing direct employment to 10 million people
Around 2 million people have lost employment and an equal number are
staring at job loses as private bus and tourist taxi operators have been
hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown, according to the Bus & Car Operators Confederation of India (BOCI).
BOCI, which claims to represent 20,000 operators with 1.5 million buses and
maxi-cabs and 1.1 million tourist taxis providing direct employment to
10 million people, said these private operators need government support
in the form of waiver of taxes and interest on loans as many of them are
facing closure.
"During lockdown 95 per cent of our vehicles were off road. Very few buses operated
for company contracts, while some were used for transporting migrant
labourers," BOCI President Prasanna Patwardhan told PTI.
With no business, the members are struggling to pay salaries and wages to employees, he added.
"At least out of the 1 crore people, 3-4 million people will lose their
jobs, 1.5-2 million people have already lost their jobs.
"From September onwards, once the (RBI order on loan) moratorium is
over and when operators will not be able to pay their EMIs, that is the
time when it is going to hit the hardest," he added.
Seeking government support, he said,"Our demand is to waive off motor
vehicle taxes and give concessions on diesel, while removing toll taxes
for inter-city travel."
Even for existing loans, he said the tenure should be extended by a
year and operators should not be burdened with the same kind of EMIs
paid last year.
Apart from these, he said BOCI's long-pending demand of "one nation, one tax one permit" should also be considered.
"This is the time we should make some structural reforms," Patwardhan said.
As per BOCI, while the government has taken steps to support the
economy through various schemes, these have not addressed the public
transport sector.
The nationwide lockdown has made a serious financial impact on most passenger transport companies.
Additionally, Patwardhan said the uncertainty of timelines for
resumption of operations, guidelines and impact of social distancing
have led to acute anxiety among the operators.
Balance they will also lose their jobs," Patwardhan said while seeking
government support for the private bus and cab operators.
Besides, since many of the vehicles have been idle in the last three months, he said, "For the lockdown period our insurance policy should get extended, at least by three months. Insurance is quite expensive, unlike before. For buses it can be between Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh a year."
Patwardhan also sought government intervention for waiver of interest
on vehicle loans, saying, "Banks should waive off that interest for at
least three months or six months. They should not levy any interest
during the moratorium period."
From September, when the EMI payments are to restart, "businesses are
not going to start immediately and come back to normal. So rescheduling
of loans is also equally important. They should give us a 'ballooning
kind' of EMI wherein the initial EMI is less and going forward that EMI
will go up," he said.
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