Important excerpts from The Hindu:

• Relevance – Transport workers strike in Telengana.
• Most of the government run transport department are loss making entities; enterprise of public transport in most urban centres is a difficult proposition economically; bus transport has been beset by problems such as ageing fleets and high operational costs largely due to high fuel rates and subsidised fares leading to hurt operations and inadequate workers salaries.
• To grease the wheels of a growing economy, a sustainable urban transport, in which road transport is a key component, is a must.
• This is possible only by modernisation such as the deployment of new buses, and identification of proper routes and services using information technology among other reforms. State support is a must for these reforms to get them out of a vicious cycle of operating losses, cutbacks and poor services.
• Measures such as dismissing striking workers must be avoided and stakeholders must be invited to negotiating tables.
• Modernisation of the transport system is very necessary.