Hike in bus fares in Punjab proposed

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab transport department has proposed a six paise per kilometre hike in bus fares in the state.
Incurring an annual loss of about Rs 90 crore in running the Punjab Roadways fleet, the hike, if effected, is expected to fetch about Rs nine crore for the department. The proposal is lying with the chief minister for his approval. Bus fares were last raised in the state more than six months ago three paise per km which amounted to a hike of 42 paise a kilometre.
Faced with huge losses and rising operational costs, the transport department has not added any new bus to its fleet during the last two years.Instead, the number of its fleet has come down from 2,400 in 2001 to 1,697 this year, rendering more than 1,500 employees jobless.
Sources say that with more than 800 buses going off the road, Punjab Roadways has stopped plying on as many routes, mostly in rural areas, and this has allowed unauthorised private operators to make a fast buck.While the transport department has been cutting down on the number of buses in its fleet, there is no proposal to enhance the share of private operators.
At present, the state has 60 per cent share in the public transport while the rest is with private operators.
Quite ironically, the department now proposes to introduce air-conditioned bus services linking all district headquarters with Chandigarh. The permits for these services would be granted to private operators, a senior official said.