Bus fare may get dearer by 20 paise per km, RTC awaits govt nod

The fare hike proposal, from the present ₹1.05/passenger/km to ₹1.25/passenger/km, has been cleared by the UPSRTC’s board of directors, a senior corporation official said

Commuting in public transport buses may soon become a bit expensive with the state-owned UPSRTC awaiting the government nod to put in effect an 18% hike in ticket fare. The hike, which translates to 20 paise per passenger per kilometre, was proposed to make up for the losses that the state road transport corporation (UPSRTC) had been incurring for quite some time, officials aware of the development said.

As per the current rules, UPSRTC is authorised to propose a fare hike of up to 10% per annum twice a year, once in January and then in July. (ANI)

UPSRTC, according to them, had also demanded that the state government grant ₹250 crore to meet the additional expenditures during 2022-23 in lieu of the non-revision of the fare hike. However, the government is said to have settled for the fare hike.

The last time the fares were revised was in 2020 after which no further revision was allowed due to the Covid-19 situation despite the increase in diesel prices in between. Now, the state transport authority (STA) may approve the hike proposal in its meeting next week.

“The fare hike proposal, from the present ₹1.05/passenger/km to ₹1.25/passenger/km, has been cleared by the UPSRTC’s board of directors and forwarded to the STA for approval,” a senior corporation official said.

As per the current rules, UPSRTC is authorised to propose a fare hike of up to 10% per annum twice a year, once in January and then in July.

“Earlier, a system for automatic fare increase based on a formula related to diesel price hike and DA (Dearness Allowance) rate was in place, but it was discontinued in 1995 in the public interest to let the government control the fare increase,” he pointed out.

Fuel prices and employees’ salaries constitute over 70% of UPSRTC’s expenses.

“On January 1, 2020 when the bus fare was revised from 95 paise to 105 paise, the diesel price was ₹63.50/ltr and DA @ 4%. Presently, diesel costs over ₹89.50/ltr and DA permissible @ 34%,” the official said.

State governments across the country, he pointed out, had either allowed SRTCs to increase fares or cross subsidised implications of diesel and salary cost through budgetary support/grant.

UPSRTC is believed to have suffered a loss of over ₹200 crore in the FY 2022-23 till December.

The second biggest government corporation after UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL), UPSRTC presently has a fleet of