A bus fare hike, it appears, is inevitable with Telangana State Road Transport Corporation Chairman Bajireddy Goverdhan on Tuesday informing the media that the issue would be discussed with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on December 1.
A key factor behind the fare hike is the heavy losses the transport juggernaut has incurred due to spiralling diesel costs and the complete halting of bus services during the COVID-19 lockdown. Interestingly, fuelling speculation on when the fare hike would come into effect is Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar’s meeting on December 1 at Transport Bhavan, where he is scheduled to speak to the media.
The Chairman was speaking to the media soon after the inauguration of the mega blood donation camp which was organised across TSRTC bus depots, stations and other facilities. Mr Goverdhan inaugurated the camp at Jubilee Bus Station.
In a separate development, TSRTC Managing Director V C Sajjanar, who also spoke to the media, maintained that there was no sale of properties of the transport juggernaut. He also assured that depots are not being closed.
As many as 4,057 persons donated blood across 67 locations in Telangana. Mr Goverdhan applauded Indian Red Cross Society and Prahari Trust for their services and also for partnering with the TSRTC.
A fare hike was in the offing since the beginning of November. The TSRTC had prepared proposals to increase ticket fare by 25 paise per kilometre to 30 paise per km. An increase of 25 paise per km for Palle Velugu and City Ordinary Buses was proposed, and an increase of 30 paise for Metro Express and Metro Deluxe was proposed.
