Thiruvananthapuram: The bus fares in the state will go up by ten percent from March 1. The cabinet took this decision on Wednesday citing the recent hike in the petroleum and diesel prices.
There will be an average 10 per cent hike in per-kilometre fare for all KSRTC services with effect from March 1. The student community will have to pay, after several decades, a 25 percent increase in the concessional fare.
But the private bus operators have refused to revoke their strike plan from February 16. They have called for an emergency meeting in Kochi on Thursday to decide the future course of action. The private operators are sticking to their demand for a minimum fare of Rs 10.
The office-goers who depend mainly on multi-axle services, especially AC Volvo, will have to pay almost 11 per cent more than the current fare. The revised fare for AC Volvo from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulum (via Kottayam), roughly a distance of 225 km, is around Rs 390. This is nearly Rs 27 more than the existing fare of Rs 363. The revised fare for AC Volvo from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam (via Alappuzha), roughly 209 km, is around Rs 378 against the existing fare of Rs 351.
Similarly, the fare for high-tech AC and super deluxe will increase by 10 paise each per kilometre. The new minimum fare regime represents an across the board hike in minimum fares for different categories ranging from Rs 1 to Rs 5.
The major impost is on the student community for which the hike in actual tariff is by 25 per cent. The student fares are fixed in such a way that the hike does not exceed more than Re 1 up to 40 km. The current rate for students travelling for 40 km is Rs 4 and with the revised rates coming into effect, they will have to pay Rs 5.
The minimum fare of superfast services will go up from Rs 13 to 15, super express from Rs 20 to 22, super deluxe from Rs 28 to 33 and AC Volvo from Rs 40 to 45.
While the minimum ordinary bus fare has gone up from Rs 7 to 8, for fast passenger services it goes up from Rs 10 to 11. According to the revised rates, the per km fare of 64 paise will now be 70 paise. The fare was last hiked by KSRTC on May 20 in 2014. The hike is expected to result in an additional income of Rs 28 lakh per month for the KSRTC. The government attributed the increase in fare to the recent hike in petroleum and diesel prices.
Kerala State Private Bus Operators Federation (KSPBOF) general secretary Lawrence Babu told DC that they had demanded a minimum charge of Rs 5 for students and fixing of concession at 50 per cent of the fares. “We had opposed granting concession to students of unaided sector. However, all our demands have been rejected by the government.”
