Contractor seeks double fare to ply whole fleet of Ludhiana buses

The contractor said diesel was priced at ₹48 per litre when they entered into a contract with the Ludhiana municipal corporation in 2015; However, the rates had now almost doubled due to which it was difficult to run the buses without increasing the fare.

Amid the continuing deadlock between the city bus contractor and the municipal corporation officials over the limited number of city buses plying on the roads, the contractor has proposed to deploy the entire fleet of 83 buses, provided the fare is doubled.

The Ludhiana officials’ grouse is that the contractor has been merely running a dozen buses on two routes. However, the contractor has refused to run more buses, citing losses, a claim which authorities are sceptical about, resulting in the deadlock. (Hindustan Times/Ludhiana)

The proposal was tabled during a meeting of the contractor, Jaskirat Singh, and additional commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal at the civic body’s Zone-A office on Thursday. Citing the rising price of diesel, the contractor has proposed ₹10 for a 5-km journey, ₹19 for a distance of 5 to 10km, ₹29 for 10-15km and ₹1 per kilometre beyond it.

At present, the fare is ₹5 for 5km, ₹10 for 10km, ₹15 for 15km and ₹20 for a distance of 20km. A final call will be taken by senior officials, including mayor Balkar Sandhu and MC commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal.

The contractor said diesel was priced at ₹48 per litre when they entered into a contract with the municipal corporation in 2015. However, the rates had now almost doubled due to which it was difficult to run the buses without increasing the fare.

Buses are the only public transport in the city. Of the 120 buses purchased under the project, 83 have been handed over to the contractor. Of these, only a dozen are running on city roads, while the others are gathering dust at the depot. The 37 buses with the MC are also stabled.

In a nutshell

The contractor says the rate of fuel has almost doubled, necessitating revision of fare.

Distance Present fare Proposed fare

5km ₹5 ₹10

10km ₹10 ₹19

15km ₹15 ₹29