9 hours ago
Revenue of KTC Smart City e-buses stands 1.5 crore lower than projected
Porvorim:
Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) has reported a significant revenue shortfall from its Smart City electric bus operations in Panaji. Against the projected revenue of Rs 3.4 crore for the fiscal year 2024-25, the actual earnings between July 2024 and March 2025 stood at approximately Rs 1.9 crore.
The revenue gap is Rs 1.5 crore. Minister for transport Mauvin Godinho said, 'The shortfall in revenue is primarily attributed to the continued operation of private bus operators providing city bus services in Panaji, which has impacted the ridership on Smart City electric buses.'
Godinho was replying to a question tabled by MLA Viresh Borkar.
A total of 48 Smart City EVs are currently operating in Panaji and the surrounding areas.
These buses ply on seven designated routes: yellow, red, indigo, blue, green, orange, and violet.
In all, 18 lakh passengers travelled by these electric buses from July 2024 to March 2025, covering 11 lakh km in this duration.
'The concept of Smart City buses was to operate without conductors, for which pole-mounted validators were fixed for tapping the Smart Transit Card or validating the QR code generated on an app,' Godinho said.
'However, commuters were hesitant to use Smart City buses, adapting to the new system,' he said.
The minister reiterated that private bus operations further impacted the ridership numbers.
