BUS FARE IN PUNJAB UP BY 7 PAISE PER KM
PATIALA:Get ready to pay more for bus travel as the Punjab government has hiked fare by 7 paise per kilometre, the third such increase this year.
The fare was hiked by 6 paise per km in June and 2 paise in February. Following increase in prices of diesel, the Pepsu Roadways Transport Corporation (PRTC) had recommended the state government to hike the bus fare by 5 paise per km.
Now, the travelling cost in an ordinary bus will be ₹1.17 per km against the previous ₹1.10 per km. The fare of air-conditioned buses will be ₹1.40 per km against ₹1.32 per km, which is 20% more than the ordinary buses.
Those travelling in an integral coach (luxury bus) will have to pay ₹2.10 per km and fare of a super-integral coach will be ₹2.34 per km.
: The Punjab transport department on Monday hiked the bus fare by 7 paise per kilometre following spike in diesel prices. This is the third fare hike in the state this year. The fare was increased by 6 paisa per kilometre in June and 2 paisa in February.
Due to the ever-rising prices of diesel, the Pepsu Roadways Transport Corporation (PRTC) had recommended the state government to increase the bus fare by 5 paisa per kilometre.
With the fresh hike, the travelling cost in an ordinary bus will be ₹1.17 per kilometre against the previous ₹1.10 per kilometre.
The fare of air-conditioned buses will be ₹1.40 per kilometre against ₹1.32 per kilometre , which is 20% more than the ordinary buses.
Those travelling in an integral coach (luxury bus) will have to pay ₹2.10 per kilometre and fare of a super-integral coach will be ₹2.34 per kilometre, which is double that of an ordinary bus.
“The bus fare has been increased after a ₹6 per litre hile in diesel prices. In case, the diesel prices come down, the government can reduce the fare accordingly,” managing director, PRTC, Manjit Singh Narang said.
He said that the Pepsu Roadways Transport Corporation demanded the government to increase bus fares as the PRTC had to spend extra ₹5-6 lakh on daily basis to meet diesel demand due to the ever-increasing fuel prices.
PRTC TO EARN ₹2.4 CR MORE PER MONTH
The hike in bus fare will help the cash-strapped PRTC generate an extra income of ₹2.4 crore per month.
Narang said the additional revenue will be a boon for the corporation, which will help it bridge the gap between its income and expenses.
“The move will add ₹8 lakh to the ₹1.40 crore daily revenue of the PRTC,” Narang said.
Narang said earlier the gap between the PRTC’s income and expenses was pegged at around ₹1 crore per month.
“Now, we are going to generate around an extra ₹1.8 crore per month, which will help in bringing down the monthly losses,” the PRTC managging director said.
The PRTC, being a bulk purchaser of diesel, had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Oil Corporation for rebate of ₹1.55 per litre in diesel prices.
The PRTC’s daily consumption of diesel is 85,000 litres.
DUE TO RISING PRICES OF DIESEL, PRTC HAD RECOMMENDED THE STATE GOVERNMENT TO INCREASE THE BUS FARE BY 5 PAISA PER KILOMETRE