BRT faced Rs1.88 bn loss in FY2020-21

PESHAWAR: The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Peshawar faced a deficit of Rs1.882 billion during the last financial year, 2020-21, while a deficit of Rs2.79 billion was estimated for the current financial year, 2021-22, according to official sources.

The Peshawar BRT faced a total deficit of over Rs4.673 billion during the last two years and the provincial government was bearing it through subsidies. Officials said the BRT Peshawar was consuming more subsidies than Rawalpindi and Multan metro buses. The Trans-Peshawar sources confirmed that the main reason for the deficit was the subsidy paid to passengers on tickets.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government had claimed that the BRT would not need any subsidy for its operations. Provincial Minister for Transport Shah Mohammad Wazir told this correspondent that on the special directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan, fares had been kept very low, so that passengers could be given relief. The subsidies could be reduced by increasing the rate of BRT fares, but it would be a burden on the people, he added.

“The fare of old buses was Rs60-70, but the government kept the ticket for the 27.5km route is only Rs50 to facilitate people. The Covid-19 sanctions had reduced the number of passengers. But as the conditions improve, the number of passengers would increase again,” he hoped.

In reply to a question, he said that BRT’s three commercial plazas were being constructed currently, which would generate significant revenue for the company in terms of monthly rent.

According to official statistics, the PTI government inaugurated the much-awaited Peshawar BRT on Aug 14, 2020. In the first 10 months of the last financial year, the total expenditure was Rs1.922 billion, while only Rs399 million was collected from passengers in terms of fares. As a result, deficit of Rs1.882 billion was incurred during the last financial year.

The provincial government paid Rs1.752 billion to Trans Peshawar to meet the deficit, while the Asian Development Bank paid only Rs130 million to Trans Peshawar. According to documents, the Trans Peshawar is facing a deficit of Rs2.798 billion during the current financial year. The company was expected to earn a total of Rs121.6 million through the sale of tickets during the current financial year, while the company had a balance of Rs56.9 million from the Asian Development Bank. Thus, the total revenue was estimated at Rs178.6 million.

Similarly, the total expenditure of BRT during the current financial year had been estimated at Rs2.969 billion, thus a deficit of Rs2.790 billion was expected in 2021-22. To cover the current financial deficit of BRT, the provincial government allocated Rs2.747 billion in the budget, while the Asian Development Bank would also provide Rs43 million to reduce the BRT deficit.

Muhammad Umair Khan, a spokesperson for Trans Peshawar, told this correspondent that at least 38 million passengers travelled by BRT buses in a year from August 14, 2020, to August 14, 2022. The minimum cost for a ticket is Rs10 and the highest costing ticket is Rs50. The BRT service provided a quality mass transit system to the dwellers of the provincial capital. However, the spokesman declined to comment on the account and budget details.

“Five feeder routes are operational and about 158 buses are operating in different parts of the city. 18-meter busses are operating on the main route while 12-meter-long small buses are dedicated to feeder routes,” he said.

The Trans Peshawar had refused to send the record of income and expenditure to the Provincial Assembly and took a stance that the figures could not be compiled yet. However, the speaker had ordered to submit all the records within a week.

According to media reports, the Punjab government is paying over Rs7 billion annual subsidy for the operations of Metro and Speedo buses in the three cities; Rs4.25 billion for Lahore (both Metro and Speedo buses), Rs2.25 billion for Rawalpindi /Islamabad (Metro bus), and over Rs1.5 billion for Multan (Metro bus). Similarly, an annual subsidy for 2020-2021 amounting to Rs4.5 billion has been fixed for the Lahore Orange Line Train.