Transport Minister Botcha Satyanarayana here on Monday said the hike in bus fares by APSRTC was inevitable due to increase in diesel price.
Speaking to the media in the Secretariat, Botcha, along with APSRTC Managing Director AK Khan said the hike in diesel price would cause a Rs 330-crore additional financial burden on the State-run Transport Corporation. Even after the bus fare hike, the APSRTC is likely to suffer Rs 800-crore loss this year.
Defending the bus fare hike, the Minister said the hike was minimal and it would not cause burden on the commuters. Out of 22,000 APSRTC buses, 50 percent of passengers were traveling in Palle Velugu buses, whose distance range would be generally up to 50 km. The burden would be Re 1 for the first 25 km and another Rupee for further 25 km. It means, 50 percent of the commuters face burden of one or two rupees only, he added.
The minister said that only 1.9 percent of total commuters travel in Deluxe buses and the fare was hiked by 80 paisa per km from 70 paisa. For super-luxury buses, in which 1.65 percent of passengers travel, the fare was hiked by 94 paisa per km from 82 paisa and the hike was only 12 paisa per km.
Stating that this was the third bus fare hike since 2004, he reminded that bus fares were hiked seven or eight times during the previous regime. He also requested the Opposition parties not to politicize the bus fare hike issue. He said that an action plan was being prepared to improve the revenue of the APSRTC through its assets, advertisements and commercial activities. He also said that the aim of the APSRTC was to provide comfortable travel facility to the people. (NSS)