The Justice Ramachandran Nair Fare Revision Committee, constituted by the State government to recommend bus fare revision whenever necessary, on Saturday submitted to the government its report on the latest demand of private bus operators for a fare revision.
The committee is understood to have recommended an increase in the minimum bus fare from the present level of Rs.5 to Rs.6. The recommendation will also be applicable to the public sector Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, which too had appealed to the government for a fare revision following the latest hike in diesel price. The private bus operators had been demanding the minimum fare to be fixed at Rs.7.
Transport Minister Aryadan Mohammed had convened a meeting of the leaders of the bus operators’ unions on September 19 in the context of a notice they had served on the government for a strike from October 1, if the bus fares were not increased to reflect the increased cost of fuel and other items that go into the business of operating bus service. They had postponed their strike plan following the Minister’s assurance that a decision on their demand would be announced before October 10.
The government had requested the fare revision committee to give its report before the end of September so that it would get enough time to study the report and announce a decision after placing it in the Council of Ministers.
