Diwali cracker: Private bus operators in Pune hike fares despite warning from RTO

MSRTC also increases bus fares by 10 per cent during Diwali season

Even as regional transport office (RTO) has warned private bus operators against fare hike, the rates have gone up indiscriminately ahead of Diwali festival.

While the situation spells business for private and public transport service providers like buses, railways and flights, it means digging a deeper hole in the pockets of commuters. (Rahul Raut/HT PHOTO)

This surge pricing comes even after the state government had issued a resolution on April 27, 2018, that private bus contractors cannot charge more than 1.5 times the fare charged by the Maharashtra state road transport corporation (MSRTC) buses. While the situation spells business for private and public transport service providers like buses, railways and flights, it means digging a deeper hole in the pockets of commuters.

Moreover, MSRTC also announced the annual fare hike during Diwali on Wednesday. Between November 1 and November 17, the MSRTC fare will be increased by 10 per cent, as per the order issued by Diwakar Raote, state transport minister and chairman of MSRTC. On Tuesday, the regional transport office held a meeting with private bus operators and told them action will be taken if there are any complaints of fare hike that violates the government resolution.The fare by private bus service providers sky rockets during this season and so do the costs of the state transport providers.

In a government resolution passed by the home department of Maharashtra governement on April 27, the state put a cap on the limit of hike in the private bus fare at 50 percent of the MSRTC rates. The decision was based on the fare charged by MSRTC per kilometre. Therefore, if hypothetically MSRTC levied ₹10 per kilometer, the private bus contractors cannot charge more than ₹15 per kilometer. However, while the home department has prescribed rates per kilometer, the total cost of MSRTC buses itself has inflated.

“Throughout the year we are operating at the rate of ₹500 to ₹700 for places like Pulad which is over 500km from this depot (Shivajinagar). All the private bus service providers run with 30-40 percent loss. This is a business we need to sustain, not a public transport system. The non-AC buses are 44 seater buses while the buses that we provide are all 30 seaters.” said a front desk manager at Chanakya Travels in Shivajinagar.

“I often travel to Amravati. Generally the rates of shivshahi are around ₹800-850 and private buses cost anywhere around ₹1000 to ₹1,500-1,600. But during Diwali, MSRTC costs around ₹1200 and private rates touch ₹3,000-4,000,” said Sanket Wankhade, a photographer in Pune.

“I do not take the MSRTC buses to Nagpur generally. I always book private buses and the bookings start a month or so before the date of travel. So there is no scope of booking earlier. A couple of years ago, I used to pay ₹1,000-1,200 to go to Nagpur. Now off-season I have to pay some ₹1,500 -1,800 and during Diwali I have to pay ₹ 3,000 one way. So going home and coming back costs me around ₹6,000,” said Sweety Nimje, a research analyst working in a private firm.