The new bus fare has come into force on Thursday amid protest by a section of the people and the threat by the AIADMK to launch an agitation if the government failed to withdraw the hike.
Last week, the government revised the fares of town buses, stage carriages and night service buses. For stage carriages, the government has fixed ₹8 as minimum fare for 6 km and 75 paise will be charged for every additional km.
‘Decision inevitable’
For town buses, the minimum rate fixed for the first stage (3 km) is not exceeding ₹5 and for subsequent stages, ₹2 will be additionally charged.
While the Puducherry Bus Owners Association at a press conference said the decision was inevitable due to increase in prices of oil, bus chassis, spare parts and insurance premium, the AIADMK termed the decision as “anti-people and pro-private owners.”
President of the association, Bharathi Kannan, said the last revision was made in 2012 when the diesel price was ₹41. 65. Now the diesel price stood at ₹59 resulting in heavy loss to the bus owners. Apart from the diesel price rise, the insurance premium which was ₹30,000 in 2012 increased to ₹80,000 in 2017.
Besides, the cost of chassis increased to ₹20 lakh from ₹12 lakh in 2012. Notwithstanding the arguments for the fare revision, residents at Abishekapakkam staged a road roko to mark their reservation against the hike. They withdrew the protest after revenue officials assured them that they will convey their concerns to the government.
AIADMK legislative leader A. Anbalagan said the government unilaterally hiked the fare by almost 100% without consulting even the legislators.
He said the fare was much lower in other States, including Tamil Nadu, where the diesel price and tax structure were on the higher side. He accused the government of being hand-in glove with private bus owners. The AIADMK leader also questioned the silence of Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi on the issue. The party urged Ms. Bedi to use her administrative powers to have a more realistic revision than the present one.
In a statement, secretary of the local unit of the CPI(M), Rajangam, flayed the government for the exponential hike in bus fare. The government had completely failed to implement any of the promises made during the elections.
