I was very fortunate to have an opportunity travelling by ST, (Maharashtra State Transport), in Maharashtra recently. I was amazed at how much was still the same.
I remember travelling by ST in the 70s and 80s. The rattling buses, always ready to serve you with the most joyful experience. ST was a window into the roller-coaster experience for us small-towners.
I was glad to see that it is still the same. The buses still rattle and struggle against the slopes on the roads. The buses have even managed to stink equally as badly as then. The consistency in the service quality is quite admirable and probably unmatched. The ST stands are still the same... littered with filth and dusty, mixed with the black smoke emitting from the wonderfully maintained buses.
The number of people using ST has dramatically increased though. The government has managed to keep the fares quite reasonable still.
However, I still find it hard to believe that it runs in a loss. Taking into account the fact that nothing has changed, neither the buses nor the bus stands, there should have been massive amounts of money left over from the fare charges because the number of customers has at least quadrupled.
Where does the money from the people and government subsidy, go? What a naive question to ask!