CHENNAI: From today, travel by train will be cheaper than that in buses. The State government on Friday announced hike in bus fares in eight public transport corporations it operates. The government’s release announcing the fare hike highlighted how in Tamil Nadu the bus fares are still comparatively cheaper than the neighbouring States and also how the low fares are making the transport corporations unsustainable and forced them into huge debts.
But the revised ticket fare, which comes into effect from Saturday, will burn a hole in the pockets of commuters. Long-distance passengers have to shell out about Rs 100 to Rs 200 more when travelling distances above 200 km in TNSTC and SETC buses.
For ordinary class mofussil buses, the fares are hiked from 42 paise per kilometre to 60 paise. For ‘Express’ and ‘Deluxe’ buses, the fares have been hiked from 56 paise per kilometre to 80 paise. The fares for ‘Super Deluxe’ buses is now 90 paise from 60 paise per km. For ‘Ultra Deluxe’ buses, the new fare is 110 paise, which is nearly a 50 per cent hike from 70 paise hitherto.
This means, ticket fare of a semi-sleeper bus operated by State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) from Chennai to Madurai will increase from Rs 275 to Rs 415 in Super deluxe buses. It will cost a passenger Rs 505 in Ultra Deluxe buses against Rs 325, the earlier fare. However, the fare in a second class sleeper in train will be just Rs 315, including reservation charges.
Similarly, a bus ticket in SETC from Chennai to Tirunelveli would cost Rs 590 and Rs 720 in ‘Deluxe’ and ‘Ultra Deluxe’ buses. So far, the fares were only Rs 330 and Rs 380. A train ticket in second class sleeper for the same distance is only Rs 385.
The ticket fares in relatively short distance routes, lesser than 300 km, such as Chennai - Vellore, Chennai - Tiruvannamalai, Chennai - Villupuram and Chennai - Puducherry will go up by Rs 50 to Rs 65 in both TNSTC and SETC buses.
For instance, the fare in an ‘Ultra Deluxe’ bus from Chennai to Vellore would go up to Rs 160. Till Friday, it was only Rs 98. Even in a TNSTC bus, a ticket would cost Rs 118 (old fare was Rs 80). But a reserved seat in a superfast train in second class is only Rs 90 between Chennai and Katpadi, near Vellore.
The ticket fares of Air Conditioned Deluxe buses and Volvo buses have been increased by 50 to 60 paise per km. The AC bus fares are to be charged 140 paise a kilometre, compared to 90 paise hitherto, while Volvo bus tickets is to be fixed at 170 paise as against the earlier fare of 110 paise a km.
The government also increased the minimum ticket fares of all buses. The minimum ticket fare in Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses has been increased to Rs 5 from Rs 3 for ordinary buses and the maximum fare increased to Rs 23.
The starting fare in an ordinary town bus has been increased to Rs 6 from Rs 5, while for ‘Express’ buses the minimum fare (upto 30 km) is to be Rs 24 as against the earlier fare of Rs 17. Similarly, the lowest fare in non-stop deluxe buses has been hiked to Rs 27 from Rs 18, while the minimum fare of ultra deluxe buses will be Rs 33, as against Rs 21 in the past.
The minimum fares of AC and Volvo buses have also been increased to Rs 42 and Rs 51 respectively, from Rs 27 and Rs 33 till Friday. In addition to this, passengers will be charged between Rs 1 and Rs 10 towards tollgate fee. For the bus fares from Rs 25 to Rs 501 passengers should pay anywhere between Rs 1 and Rs 10 towards toll fee.
In the event of loss of life and injuries due to accidents, passengers in the age group of one to 15, will have an insurance coverage up to Rs 2.5 lakhs, those in the age group of 16 to 60, will get a coverage up to Rs 5 lakhs. Passengers above 60 years, will be covered up to Rs 2.5 lakhs. The last time the ticket fare was hiked was in November 2011. An official release said.