Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Bus operators defer agitation plan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Private bus operators have decided not to go ahead with their plan to go on strike from Tuesday, following talks with Transport Minister Mathew T. Thomas.

A spokesman of the All-Kerala Bus Operators’ Coordination Committee said the Minister, at the meeting here on Monday, promised them a ‘reasonable hike’ in bus charges in view of the fuel price rise. The bus operators had demanded a hike of 10 paise per kilometre on each ticket. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) the other day had advised the government to allow a hike of eight paise per kilometre.

The Minister reportedly told them of the LDF decision and asked them to wait for the decision of the Cabinet. The bus operators wanted a 50 per cent increase in the ticket rates for students too. The LDF’s advice to the government was to increase these rates by 25 per cent.

Another contentious issue was the tendency of the government to permit more private buses. Bus operators alleged that this was making the existing passenger services unviable. The Minister, reportedly, told the committee leaders that the permits issued after 2006 would not be renewed.

“We will wait for the Cabinet decision and then decide whether to go on strike,” the spokesman said.

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