Steep hike in RTC fares on anvil

Steep hike in RTC fares on anvil
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Steep Hike in RTC Fares on Anvil, Samaikyandhra Strike, APSRTC Management. The corporation authorities said the ordinary fare would be hiked by Re 1 for every two km (each stage) up to a distance of 25 km, while it would be Rs 2 every 2km upwards to a distance of 45km. Similarly, in Pallevelugu (rural) buses, the fare will be hiked by 5 paise per km.

  • Minimum hike of 10 % likely
  • To make up for accumulating loss of Rs 5,000 crore
  • Loss incurred mainly during Samaikyandhra strike

The corporation authorities said the ordinary fare would be hiked by Re 1 for every two km (each stage) up to a distance of 25 km, while it would be Rs 2 every 2km upwards to a distance of 45km. Similarly, in Pallevelugu (rural) buses, the fare will be hiked by 5 paise per km. Long - distance express and deluxe services will have a hike of 10 paise/km. It would be 12 paise/km for super luxury categories. Fares were hiked in a similar pattern in September last year, with revision in the range of 5% to 12%.

The cash-strapped AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) is all set for an upward revision of the fares and this time it may not be sparing any class of commuters. Sources said that a minimum hike of ten per cent per km is on the cards. The corporation authorities may opt for immediate implementation once it gets the final nod from the government. The hike is basically intended to offset the impact of repeated raise in the cost of fuel. It has become an uphill talk for the corporation to make up for the operational loss, thanks to the accumulating losses which crossed Rs 5000 crore mark after keeping its services off the road for 66 days in 13 districts owing to the Samaikyandhra agitation.

The strike had added revenue losses by about Rs 750 crores. The cost of diesel also went up by Rs 7 during the past one year thus costing its profits considerably.

“Hike is just inevitable” said member of the APSRTC management board. The passenger fares were last increased in September 2012.

The Minister for Transport Botcha Satyanarayana had been indicating that hike in passenger fare was overdue. Botcha had even justified the hike saying that the passenger fares in Andhra Pradesh were still lower compared to that in neighboring states, including Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

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