Votaries of public transport, who have for long been demanding flexi-fare for travel by bus during late-night hours, have welcomed a proposal of the KSRTC to increase night-time travel fare by up to 30%.
The long-pending demand was reiterated by Biju Prabhakar, the new KSRTC managing director. It can be implemented if the government agrees, he told The Hindu .
Experts in the transport sector have for long been demanding incentivising the KSRTC and private bus operators by permitting higher fare for night trips since nil or wholly inadequate services during night time is a headache for people without private vehicles. Women commuters and the elderly are the worst hit.
A senior KSRTC official said commuters would any day prefer buses even if the night fare was hiked nominally since the other alternative would be to spend high amounts on fuel for using private vehicles.
“Else, they would end up being fleeced by autorickshaw drivers or would be forced to hitch a ride in cars or goods carriers, which is a risky proposition. On its part, the KSRTC will be able to check its loss which hovers around ₹40 crore per month,” he added.
Public transport buses are practically unavailable in some locales after 8 p.m., and cities like Kochi are no exception. This was not the case a few years ago, when at least skeletal services were available in most cities and towns.
Most private bus operators, who have been severely hit by the steep increase in operational costs, prefer not to conduct their last trips to save on expenses, said a senior Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) official.
Another crucial issue that bus operators have been highlighting is bus crew fatigue since most drivers and conductors begin their duty as early as 6.30 a.m. The KSRTC is reluctant to operate trips although it has multiple shifts, citing inadequate fare collection. It operates trips till 10 p.m., in Thiruvananthapuram.
Former Senior Deputy Transport Commissioner B.J. Antony, an avid votary of public transport, spoke of how a fare hike for night travel would encourage the operation of night trips. “On their part, long-distance private bus operators will be willing to operate night trips at the existing fare or a little higher since they have a lean and efficient system. Night fare hike for the KSRTC’s short distance vehicles will result in fare hike for private buses which operate short distances,” he said.
He attributed the inadequate bus services at night to the government nationalising long-distance routes where the KSRTC operated. This alone resulted in around 350 buses being taken off highways, Mr. Antony said.
