Jamshedpur : Riding on private town buses will pinch pocket of steel city residents, especially students from August 1. About 125 private mini buses carry over 1.5 lakh passengers on a given day on 14 specified routes across the city and arguably the most popular and cheapest mode of traveling will charge more from the passengers.
The decision on hike of bus fare was taken by the Shikshit Berozgar Mini Bus Association (SBMBA), the leading outfit of the private bus operators. A delegation of the bus operators have also met the additional chief secretary Sajal Chakraborty about their decision due to the fuel hike.
Sanjay Pandey, general secretary of SBMBA said that the bus operators had no option but to raise the fare due to steep hike in fuel (read diesel) prices in the last two years. As of now, the diesel price in city is Rs 60.34 per litre.
From Sakchi to Bistupur it will cost Rs 5 (instead of existing Rs 4) while a ride from Sakchi to Jugsalai will cost Rs 6 (instead of existing Rs 5) and ride from Sakchi to Tatanagar Station will cost Rs 7 (instead of existing Rs 6).
�Obviously the rise in the price of fuel is leading to an increase in the input cost. But like other public transport systems, the buses must run on a service model and not a profiteering one. The hike will consume nearly 25 to 30 per cent of the wages of daily-wage earners and unorganized sector workers,� said a passenger.
