The Hindu : Front Page : LDF gives nod for bus fare hike

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Sunday, Jun 22, 2008
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LDF gives nod for bus fare hike

Special Correspondent

Minimum fare to go up to Rs.4; students’ fare may be hiked by 25 per cent

Mathew T. Thomas says there is no way to pull on.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State committee of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has given its clearance for a hike in bus fares to cushion the impact of the increase in the prices of petroleum products.

The Transport Department had presented a proposal for increasing the bus fares consequent upon the steep hike in the price of diesel. However, given the sensitivity of the issue, a decision on the proposal was deferred till the LDF committee took a decision in the matter.

The proposal envisaged increase in the minimum fare from Rs.3 to Rs.4 and the fare per kilometre to 8 paise for ordinary buses and 5 paise in the case of fast passenger and super fast buses. The students’ concession will be increased by 25 per cent of the revised fare.

The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has been incurring an additional expenditure of Rs.5 crore a month on account of the diesel price hike, taking its monthly loss to Rs.24 crore.

The diesel price increase had come at a very inappropriate moment for the KSRTC which was slowly moving towards operating profit after remaining in deep red for several years now.

Transport Minister Mathew T. Thomas, who briefed the LDF State committee meeting about the bus fare hike proposal, told The Hindu here on Saturday that the fare hike was proposed as there was no way to pull on.

Going by current indications, the bus fare hike will in all probability be cleared by the Cabinet coming Wednesday and will, naturally, benefit both the KSRTC and the private bus operators, who have already given notice for a strike to press for higher fares. This is for the first time that the LDF government is going in for a fare hike though there had been two increases in diesel price after it came to power.

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