CHENNAI: Omnibus fares in the State will go up by 25 per cent as festive season ticket prices will be made regular fares throughout the year.“We have decided to do away with the dynamic pricing system. The fares collected during festive season, which are 25 per cent higher than regular fares, will be charged throughout the year. The new system will come into effect in two to three months,” said A Afzal, president, Tamil Nadu Omnibus Owners Association (TOBOA). Afzal added that fares would remain static like government bus fares.
After the decision is implemented, a non-AC seater ticket between Chennai and Madurai will go up by Rs 100 to Rs 150, and non-AC sleeper and AC sleeper may go up by Rs 200 to Rs 350.
The decision comes after the State government, through Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Act, 2019, levied road tax for sleeper berths with effect from August. As per the new rule, `4,000 per sleeper berth is levied for three months towards road tax and Rs 3,000 imposed per seat if the bus offers seat too.
For omnibuses registered in other States and Union Territories, the tax would be Rs 800 a seat or Rs 1,000 per single berth per entry for seven days.
Given that the government only recently granted approval to register sleeper buses, the sleeper buses were registered in Kerala, Nagaland and Puducherry. These State collect only 30 to 50 per cent of road tax charged in Tamil Nadu.
Besides paying the road tax in the State or Union territory where the buses got registered, omnibus operators incur additional expenses of more than `40,000 a month by paying road taxes in Tamil Nadu.
“The government has already started receiving applications for registering sleeper buses. After transferring permits to Tamil Nadu, the festive season fares will be made permanent,” added Afzal.
Transport officials remain tight-lipped on the issue.