HYDERABAD: The stage is all set for a hike in the TSRTC bus fare. Proposals to this effect are likely to be placed before the next Cabinet meeting. “As diesel prices have increased abnormally, a fare hike is impending now,” a top official of the RTC told Express on Saturday. “The decision has been pending since two months. Proposals will be submitted to the government very soon by the Corporation,” an official said.
According to sources, the RTC is incurring huge revenue losses every year. So, the hike will help reduce the revenue loss to some extent. Though, there were reports that the fare hike burden on commuters will be around Rs 1,000 crore, the sources did not confirm the same.
“The government will decide the increase in bus fares. The hike will be around 15 paise to 30 paise per km. But, the government may spare the city buses and ordinary buses plying in rural areas. The hike will be higher in luxury and long-distance buses,” sources said.
The additional expenditure being incurred by the RTC every year due to the increase in diesel prices and other costs was around Rs 600 crore. The revenue loss per month in Hyderabad alone is Rs 90 crore. During a meeting on September 21, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had decided to hike the RTC bus fare and power tariff.
For two months, however, the bus fare was not hiked due to the bypoll in Huzurabad. With the completion of the bypoll, the State government’s decision is now likely to be announced soon. The government had first contemplated hiking the bus fare in 2020 itself, but deferred the decision due to Covid-19. Though the diesel prices were up by Rs 22 per litre in the last two-and-a-half years, the price is down by Rs 10 now due to the slash in excise duty by the Central government.
Burden on commuters to be Rs 1,000 crore?
Though, there were reports that the burden of the impending fare hike on commuters will be around Rs 1,000 crore, sources did not confirm the same