Vacation travel is going to cost you more this Summer, as Omni buses have hikes their fares from May Day. Omni buses travelling to other cities within the state and outside Tamil Nadu have raised their ticket prices up to 10 per cent, as per the Tamilnadu Omni Bus Owners Association (TOBOA)’s announcement, “All prices have been increased and we are not able to bear the losses. With more than thousand buses operating in the state, all of us have been affected by diesel prices going up by Rs 9, tire prices up by 30 per cent and insurance has shot up 20 per cent,” said Afzal,TOBOA’s President. The inaction of the government to at least slash toll rates is partially to blame, “We have appealed several times last year to the transport ministry but there was no response,” said Afzal.
This has certainly affected the public who have already started booking tickets through the internet, “I always travel by Volvo buses just for the simple reason that they are more comfortable. But their services have been deteriorating lately. Now that they have increased the prices I am not sure if it is worth it,” said Ravikumar, a bank employee in Chennai.
Bus owners say that the hike isn’t too drastic, “There will no impact as the price hike is hardly Rs. 30 to 40. When people are ready to pay more for railway tatkal, they can definitely afford this. Our business is already not doing well as the occupancy level is just 60 per cent,” said Afsal.