THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the next academic year approaches, private stage carriage operators are gearing up for a statewide protest against the delay in increasing student ticket fares.
T Gopinathan, general secretary of the All Kerala Bus Operators Organisation will lead a protest march from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram from April 3 to 9.
The organisers are calling for urgent government intervention to support the industry by increasing student ticket fares, renewing private bus permits, regulating fines, and withdrawing unscientific directives that impose heavy financial burdens on operators.
They have warned that if the government fails to take a favourable decision, bus services may be halted by the end of April.
Bus operators have been demanding a hike in student fares since March 24, 2021, proposing a minimum concession fare of Rs 6. The last revision, which set the student fare at Rs 2, was implemented in 2012.
In May 2022, the Justice Ramachandran Commission recommended increasing student fares alongside a general fare hike.
However, instead of implementing the recommendation, the government appointed another committee led by Planning Board member K Raviraman to study the proposal. The committee’s report has yet to be made public.