Defacing heritage look of smart buses for 50 lakh revenue against advertisements

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The Smart City Office (SCO) administration currently operates 80 city buses on various routes in and around the city. For the past one and a half years, strange and gaudy advertisements have been displayed on these buses. The beautiful and historic ‘look’ originally given to the smart buses has disappeared. Through advertisements, the Smart City receives ₹4.40 lakh per month and around ₹50 lakh per year. Because of this revenue, the buses are now covered with all kinds of commercial advertisements. Even former municipal commissioner Dr Nipun Vinayak was shocked to see this.

In 2018, SCO launched the city bus service. A total of 100 new diesel buses were purchased at a cost of ₹36 crore. Initially, these buses were given a historic look. Pictures of world-famous tourist sites such as Ajanta–Ellora Caves, Bibi-ka-Maqbara, Panchakki, and other monuments were displayed on them. From 2018 to 2023, the city buses ran with this historic design. More than 20 of these buses have become non-operational since then, and 80 buses are currently running on different routes.

Smart City later decided to allow advertisements on the buses and appointed an agency called ‘Media House.’ The agency pays smart city ₹5,500 per bus per month for advertising rights. How much they charge advertisers is the agency’s decision. Smart City receives a total of ₹4.40 lakh per month from the agency and about ₹50 lakh per year. The administration claims that in the past one and a half years, they have earned nearly ₹70 lakh.

A monthly loss of ₹1 crore

Public transport services generally run at a loss, and compared to others, the smart bus service is still performing reasonably well, although it faces a monthly loss of ₹1 crore. Efforts to increase revenue have been ongoing for years, and the advertising tender was part of this plan. Income from advertisements helps pay salaries and cover maintenance costs. At present, the daily ticket revenue is ₹8 lakh. The persons with disabilities and certain other categories receive concessions on ticket prices. This revenue helps compensate for the losses, said Sanjay Supekar, Head of Smart City (Bus Division).