VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Transport Commissioner (DTC) M Purendra has said the department has come across some private bus operators collecting extra fare on a few routes. However, there is no provision in the Motor Vehicles Act to fix the ticket fare.
“The department has intensified vigil at 60 check-posts across the state. Special enforcement teams comprising motor vehicle inspectors are verifying the passenger ticket sheets and records of the vehicles. During our checks, we noticed that a few private operators are charging Rs 200 more on the Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam route.
The transport department won’t sit quiet if the operators continue to collect additional amount from the passengers,” he added. Recently, the private operators met transport commissioner PSR Anjaneyulu and asked him to allow them to collect extra fare on the existing tariff.
The DTC on Saturday pointed out that the department’s IT wing monitors the fares on online ticket booking platforms such as Redbus and Abhibus. Purendra said in case of being overcharged, the passengers can call on 9848528304 and the enforcement teams will take required action against the operators.
“We are currently operating buses with 40 per cent seating capacity as per the standard operating procedures. This apart, we have to see to the feasibility,” V Ravindra, proprietor of a private travels told TNIE. The prices of bus tickets have increased marginally. If the cost of a bus ticket in a Tirupati-Visakhapatnam sleeper coach was Rs 1,200 before the pandemic, the same is now between Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,800. In a Vijayawada-Hyderabad semi-sleeper seater service, if a ticket price was around Rs 600 before Covid, it has been increased to Rs 900.
He said the operators will soon meet Transport Minister Perni Venkataramaiah and urge him to enhance the ticket fare. It may be noted the private services resumed on Vijayawada-Hyderabad, Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam,Vijayawada Tirupati, Tirupati-Visakhapatnam, Guntur-Tirupati, Kurnool-Hyderabad and Chittoor-Hyderabad routes from September 5. Meanwhile, a commuter, G Rajesh, said an operator demanded Rs 3,000 for a sleeper class ticket to Hyderabad from Tirupati.