The Justice Ramachandran Commission, which studied the demand for bus fare hike in the state in the wake of the recent diesel price hike, submitted its report to the government on Saturday.
It is learnt that the minimum bus fare will be hiked by Re 1 to Rs 6. Sources said the KSRTC had asked for a raise of Re 1 on the minimum fare while private bus owners wanted a Rs 2-hike.
The fare per km will also be raised for various services, it is learnt. For ordinary services, the rate is likely to be hiked from 55 paise to 58 paise per km while it will be 57 paise to 60 paise per km for fast passenger services. It is likely to be 60 paise instead of 57 paise per km for super fast services and 65 paise instead of 60 paise per km for express buses. The bus owners had been demanding a raise in the student concession rates, which too is learnt to have been fixed at Re 1 after a 50-paise hike. Commission chairman M Ramachandran said the recommendations had been submitted to the government and refused to divulge any details. “The report has been submitted. The government can decide whether to accept the report as it is or ask for necessary changes in the recommendations,” he said.
Transport minister Aryadan Mohammed had earlier said that a fare hike was inevitable in the wake of the recent diesel price hike of Rs 5 per litre. There are over 35,000 buses, private and KSRTC, plying in the state.
Source: Times Of India
