The lull in demand for tourist buses and vans due to the pandemic has led to around 60% of them remaining idle this year as well. Subsequently, most owners have preferred to submit G-form to the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) for the second year in a row, in order to avail exception from the mandatory tax that has to be paid every quarter.
Many parking yards in the city have dust-covered vans and buses that have not operated service for a year due to low demand.
A few buses and vans have resumed service although their trips are generally confined to the weekend. Over 50% of private buses that operated in Kochi had resumed service earlier this year, with the patronage for public transport slowly increasing from next to nil in much of 2020.
Among van owners who have cancelled the G-form for their vehicles and intending to resume service is Vysakh Jayraj. “All four tyres of my van which operated tours and school trips had to be replaced since they suffered irreparable damage due…