Fare hike

The Tamil Nadu government has tried to justify the steep hike in bus fares on the ground that transport corporations need to cover their huge losses incurred for a variety of reasons. At the same time, the government has not made any statement on what it has done in the last several years to improve efficiency, avoid wastage, prevent corruption and reduce losses. There should have been a white paper on what prompted the hike. The government has also not revealed any long-term plans on how it plans to tackle the situation (“Bus fare hike sets off a chain of protests across Tamil Nadu”, January 21).

N.S. Venkataraman,

Chennai

There may be some truth in the government’s defence but the fact is that most government buses are in a very bad shape. The hike would have made sense had there been no compromises as far as passenger comfort and safety are concerned. A consistent passenger-centric approach would have balanced any negative reaction to the fare hike.

N. Visveswaran,

Chennai