Telangana to hike bus fares
15 per cent raise likely to buffer Rs 230 crore losses
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-10-15 02:48 GMT
HYDERABAD: The Telangana State government is seriously considering a 15 per cent hike in RTC bus fares. This would be the first RTC fare hike since the TRS came to power last year. The fares were last revised two years ago in undivided AP.
The management of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation has brought to the government’s notice that the corporation has accumulated losses of over '230 crore this year and unless bus fares are hiked by 15 per cent at the earliest, it will slip into a serious debt trap.
The hike is expected in November or December. However, a decision on the exact quantum of the hike would be taken by the Cabinet. TSRTC officials met transport minister P. Mahender Reddy and sought a fare revision to save the corporation.
TSRTC suffers due to pay hike:
The financial condition of the TSRTC has turned from bad to worse after hiking salaries of about 57,000 of its employees in May this year. RTC was already running in losses to the tune of Rs 400 crore besides having a debt burden of Rs 1,900 crore when the salary hike was announced in May. The losses increased by Rs 200 crore this year due to salary hike.
“The management is seeking up to a 15 per cent hike. The issue has been referred to the Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who has to take a decision on this. The hike proposals would be placed before the Cabinet for discussion. However, the government is of the firm opinion that increasing fares is not the only solution to wipe out losses, the focus should instead be on improving internal efficiency of the corporation,”said Mr Mahender Reddy.
While announcing salary hike for the RTC staff in May this year, the Chief Minister had said that a fare hike was inevitable, but the government would ensure that the common people using ordinary buses would not be burdened much and it would be passed on to passengers using luxury buses. The hike proposals are being readied according to this.