Hyderabad, January 07: Travelling in APSRTC buses will be more expensive from Thursday. The RTC management on Wednesday decided to hike bus fares by 20-25 per cent and sought to justify the same, citing ‘‘unprecedented’’ cash-crunch.
The hike varies from 8-25 paise per km for different categories of buses. The decision comes as a rude shock to many, coming as it does, at a time when the State is caught up in a political crisis and food inflation is scaling new heights every week. The State-run corporation reeled out a long list of reasons for burdening the aam aadmi: Hike in prices of diesel, spare parts, tyres and others has spiked its expenditure by about 36 per cent; agitations in the State caused a loss of Rs 240 crore; all together, 700 RTC buses had been damaged in the recent violence; and last but not the least, the 24 per cent hike in fitment benefit to RTC employees announced the other day to avert the threat of yet another strike The RTC was forced to not only announce fitment benefit, which alone puts an additional burden of Rs 459 crore per annum, but also agree to regularise 9,600 contract employees in a phased manner and fill up a whopping 23,000 vacant posts of drivers and conductors.
The State government also approved the employees’ demand for provision of employment on compasionate grounds to a family member of any employee who dies in an accident.
Transport Minister Vijayaramaraju told reporters that the bus fares were hiked as a last ditch effort to save the cash-strapped RTC.
‘‘The Government is left with no other option but to hike fares. Despite the rise in petrol and diesel prices, fares have not been hiked in the past four years,’’ the minister said.
Commuters will be charged a minimum of Rs 5 up to 4 km, Rs 7 up to 10 km and so on in ordinary city services and Rs 7 up to 4 km and Rs 9 up to 10 km in RTC hikes bus fares
Express News Service
First Published : 07 Jan 2010 07:23:14 AM IST
Last Updated : 07 Jan 2010 09:46:38 AM IST
HYDERABAD: Travelling in APSRTC buses will be more expensive from Thursday. The RTC management on Wednesday decided to hike bus fares by 20-25 per cent and sought to justify the same, citing ‘‘unprecedented’’ cash-crunch.
The hike varies from 8-25 paise per km for different categories of buses. The decision comes as a rude shock to many, coming as it does, at a time when the State is caught up in a political crisis and food inflation is scaling new heights every week. The State-run corporation reeled out a long list of reasons for burdening the aam aadmi: Hike in prices of diesel, spare parts, tyres and others has spiked its expenditure by about 36 per cent; agitations in the State caused a loss of Rs 240 crore; all together, 700 RTC buses had been damaged in the recent violence; and last but not the least, the 24 per cent hike in fitment benefit to RTC employees announced the other day to avert the threat of yet another strike The RTC was forced to not only announce fitment benefit, which alone puts an additional burden of Rs 459 crore per annum, but also agree to regularise 9,600 contract employees in a phased manner and fill up a whopping 23,000 vacant posts of drivers and conductors.
The State government also approved the employees’ demand for provision of employment on compasionate grounds to a family member of any employee who dies in an accident.
Transport Minister Vijayaramaraju told reporters that the bus fares were hiked as a last ditch effort to save the cash-strapped RTC.
‘‘The Government is left with no other option but to hike fares. Despite the rise in petrol and diesel prices, fares have not been hiked in the past four years,’’ the minister said.
Commuters will be charged a minimum of Rs 5 up to 4 km, Rs 7 up to 10 km and so on in ordinary city services and Rs 7 up to 4 km and Rs 9 up to 10 km in Express city services.
–Agencies