CHENNAI: Going to home towns for this Pongal may turn out to be the most expensive travel for commuters in Tamil Nadu. Taking advantage of the uncertainty over operation of special buses by State transport corporations due to workers’ strike, on Wednesday, private omni buses increased ticket fares by two to three times compared to normal festival season fares. Particularly, the fares have seen a surge of about Rs 400 to Rs 1,500 a ticket in the last 48 hours.
For travelling from Chennai to Madurai, fares in non-AC buses have gone up to Rs 1,200 a person, as against Rs 550 on Monday. Similarly, sleeper berths in non-AC buses for the same route costs from Rs 1400 to Rs 1,600.
Fares in other routes including Chennai - Bengaluru, Chennai - Coimbatore, Chennai - Tiruchi, Chennai - Thanjavur, Chennai - Tirunelveli, Chennai - Nagercoil and Chennai - Virudhunagar hover around Rs 1,150 to Rs 1,800.
Though omni buses have been fleecing passengers regularly, taking advantage of the festival rush, commuters say this is the highest ticket fare ever charged in the last decade.
“Even on January 12 and 13, the ticket fares in omni buses stood between 900 and Rs 1,100 per person in the last five years. The current ticket fare is the highest,” said Kumaresan, a native of Madurai, a regular commuter.
Similarly, ticket fares from Chennai to Tiruneveli, Thoothukudi, Nagercoil, Kovilpatti, Sivakasi and Kanniyakumari have touched Rs 2,500-2,800. AC sleepers charged Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 a ticket. Commuters fear that the ticket fare may go up still further in the next 48 hours. Though during festival seasons, Transport minister warns omni buses of action if they collect exorbitant charges, seldom is it implemented, commuters point out.
However, transport officials claim that the State government had booked omni buses for operating without permit regularly. And, they don’t have powers to penalise them for collecting excess fares. “We can book tourist buses only for permit violations, like if they do not have permit to operate passenger bus by collecting fares. There is no specific law that prevents additional fare collection by omni buses,” said an RTO official in Chennai.
Sources in the omni bus industry told Express that about 10,000 spare buses of various travel companies are being operated as omni buses from Chennai to other districts and within several parts of Tamil Nadu during festival seasons.
“Festival season tickets of popular omni bus companies are booked even before January 5. The current ticket fares appearing online are mostly ticket fares of small travel companies which operate tourist buses during festival seasons. Such buses may not have proper permits. There is no secret in it and its well known to everyone in the transport department,” said an office-bearer of Tamil Nadu Omni Bus Operators Association.
Workers got increment 3 times in last 10 years
Chennai: Explaining the government’s stand, a senior Transport Department official said the said the 2.44 times salary hike had put the transport workers’ pay on a par with the government drivers’ salary. For example, a government worker who joined service on January 1, 2006 was given a hike of 1 factor (100%) in 2016. Then, they have been given 125 per cent hike in dearness allowance and 32 per cent hike (0.32 factor) based on the Seventh Pay Commission. Then, the salary of government workers rose by 2.57 factor, making their monthly salary `33,930. As far as the transport workers are concerned, they have been given a salary hike three times between 2006 and 2016.
A transport worker who joined in January 2006 was given a hike of 0.15 factor (15%) in 2007, and 0.24 factor (24%) in 2010. In addition to this, the workers were given 100 per cent increase in their basic pay in 2010. After three years, their wages increased by 0.055 factor (5.5%) in 2013. That is, totally, the workers have received the hike of 1.055 factor (105.5%) since 2006. In 2016, their wages increased by 2.44 factor. “The monthly salary of a government driver in 2016 is ` 33,930, while that of a transport worker is `34,077,” he said