Bus fare hiked by 2 paise per km

Gagan K Teja 

Tribune News Service

Patiala, February 19 

The Punjab government has hiked the fares of ordinary and air-conditioned buses by 2 paise per km from February 17. The government has increased the fair after a gap of eight months and now, the travelling cost is 104 paise per km. Last time, the fair was hiked in June, 2017, by 3 paise per km i.e. 99 paise to 102 per km. 

From February 17, the government had increased the fare for different categories of the buses. Now, the fare of ordinary buses will be 104 paise per kilometer per person. 

With this hike, a passenger travelling by ordinary HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) buses will be charged 124.80 paise per km since their fare is 20 per cent more as compared to the ordinary buses. Those travelling by integral coaches will pay 187.20 paise per km and super integral coach charges will be 208 paise per km as its fare is double than that of the ordinary buses. 

The move of increasing bus fares might irk some passengers but it will certainly bring some respite to Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), which is reeling a financial crisis. The hike will help it increase its daily revenue by Rs 2.25 lakh, which comes out to be Rs 68 lakh per month and Rs 8.16 crore annually. 

PRTC chairman KK Sharma said the amount gap in its income and expenses was about Rs 30 lakh and the hiked fare would definitely help bring down the losses to a great deal. 

Notably, the major challenge for the PRTC is to pay the salaries and pensions to its existing and superannuated employees since it has to pay all this from the bus receipt. If the government makes timely reimbursement against free travel which comes out to be about Rs 18 crore per quarter, the PRTC will be able to make ends meet.