The increase in bus fare and milk price has left the middle class clueless, as they are neither affluent nor can rely on government subsidies and schemes like the below poverty line families.
Clueless also because they cannot avoid milk and skip public transport. That is why it is a comprehensive assault on the middle class economy, says P. Marudhambika, a home maker in the city.
Hers is a family of four, which requires more than one-and-half litres milk a day. This means the family's expenditure goes up by around Rs. 270 a month, given the fact that the State Government has announced a Rs. 6 increase in price of milk, which will henceforth cost Rs. 24 a litre for card holders and a little more for others.
“I will have to suffer the price rise because I cannot avoid milk. I cannot reduce the consumption, either. Given the situation, what will I do,” she asks.
Her husband J. Padmanabhan is a plumber by profession. He earns between Rs. 300 and Rs. 400 a day. But not on all days of the month. “I get work only for three or four days a week.”
To reach his work spot, he will have to use the bus. And that's where the family's next hit comes from. He says the raise comes in the backdrop of reduction in ordinary bus service.
“During peak hours, transport corporation ply only luxury buses whose ticket price is more than the orindary buses. Given the paucity of time for office, many poor people are forced to use the luxury coaches, even though they are not their first choice. The increase in fares will only compound such people's problems,” he rues.
For people like K.M. Selvaraj, the state president of the federation of state transport corporation employees' unions, which is affiliated to the AITUC, the raise is a welcome announcement only as far as the financial health of the transport corporations are concerned.
For the last seven to eight months, the corporations have been unable to pay even the provident fund and gratuity of employees who retired, for the situation is so bad.
The payment of salaries has also taken a hit because the corporations pledge/mortgage their properties to raise to money to pay employees. This is the case month after month. This increase, which comes after 10 hikes in diesel prices, will definitely help the corporation but hit the common man.
For milk producers the raise in the procurement price is a big relief. Only a couple of days ago did they seek an increase of Rs. 6 a litre.
S.R. Rajagopal, trustee, Coimbatore Milk Producers' Association, says the increase of Rs. 2 will, to an extent, help them meet the expenditure they incur in producing milk.
R. Senthil, who works in a private company, says he commutes by bus to work from Karamadai to Thudiyalur every day. The frequency of ordinary buses is low now and hence he is able to travel only by a luxury bus in the peak hours. The tickets used to cost him Rs. 20 a day and now it will double. This will hit the mid-income segment that depends on public transport systems.
Murali, a construction worker at P.N. Pudur, says the high bus fare will be a burden for workers who travel to different towns for work. “I commute on a daily-basis to Tirupur, Udumalpet or Pollachi, for almost six months in a year. With almost double the amount for bus fare, I need to shell out nearly Rs. 240 a month now for bus tickets. Cost of other services and products are also going up. Those having children will be worst hit as milk will also cost more now,” he says.
K. Kathirmathiyon, secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause, says that though there is need to increase bus fares, the raise is too steep. Nearly 40 per cent of the buses plying in Coimbatore are in the non-ordinary category and have higher fares. There is no specific standard for the service of buses in the segments of express, deluxe, semi-deluxe, and limited stop service. “Though a commuter pays a higher fare to travel by the luxury buses, these do not offer any additional benefit to the passenger,” he says. For a person travelling from Vadavalli to Ondipudur, the fare in a luxury bus was Rs.11 and it will be Rs.17 now. In the peak hours and late in the evenings, it is mostly buses in the non-ordinary category that are available and passengers do not have an option but to board these and pay high charges.
The Government should have increased the fares by just 15 per cent to 20 per cent and avoided hidden charges. It should also have specific standards of service for different categories of buses, he says.
