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Bus fare hike on cards in Ludhiana
The bus contractor and Ludhiana MC have been in a deadlock for long over fare hike with the former stating losses due to low fares and high rates of fuel; as per the contract, the fare is to be hiked in case of diesel price hike
The deadlock between the municipal corporation (MC) and city bus contractor over running the service to its full capacity is likely to end as civic body officials have decided to move forward with the proposal to revise the bus fares, which has been a long-pending demand of the contractor.
MC additional commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal conducted a meeting with the contractor at the civic body’s Zone-A office on Tuesday and stated that a proposal to hike the fare will be tabled in front of MC commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal and mayor Balkar Sandhu, but the final decision has to be taken by senior officials only.
Service currently available only on 2 routes
Currently, the contractor charges ₹5 for the first five kilometres , ₹10 till 10 kms, ₹15 till 15 kms and ₹20 till 20 kms. The only public transport facility of the city, the bus service has been running into choppy waters as out of the total 83 buses handed over to the contractor in 2015, only 25 are running. The service is available only on two routes as the contractor has been complaining of losses on other routes.
The contractor stated that he is ready to extend the service to at least seven routes and run all 83 buses, if the MC increases fare. In all, 120 buses were purchased under the project and the remaining 37 buses, worth around ₹17 crore, are gathering dust at the Tajpur road depot since its purchase.
The MC has been at the loggerheads with the contractor, demanding the payment of pending dues that run into around ₹3 crore while the contractor has been seeking a fare hike.
An MC official, requesting anonymity, said the Congress is keen on resolving the issue, at the earliest, as assembly elections are round the corner.
There is also a clause in the agreement that the fare has to be increased if there is a hike in diesel prices. The MC had served a termination notice to the company in 2019, following which the company moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The matter is sub-judice.
Recently, the contractor had served a legal notice to transport minister, local bodies minister, municipal and transport authorities for their failure to take action against illegal buses plying on city roads, which affects the business of the city bus service.
Dachalwal said, “The proposal on fare hike will be taken up with senior officials. The rates can be revised by the municipal corporation itself and there is no need to take the consent of the state transport department. Final decision over the same will be taken soon. If revised, the fare will be increased after taking into account the hike in diesel prices.”
Will surrender service contract if fare not revised: Contractor
Jaskirat Singh, one of the directors of the company which is running the city bus service, said the fare of buses was fixed in 2015 when the diesel rate was around ₹48/l. Now, the diesel rate has doubled, but the fare is not being revised, even though there is clause regarding this in the agreement. “We are running into losses and will be forced to surrender the contract if the MC fails to revise the fare,” he said.
