TSRTC Hikes Fares By 10% To Fetch Rs 286 Crores

Commuters of TSRTC buses in Telangana, including those using local buses in the twin cities, have to cough up another 10% in bus fares from June 27, on which date a fare hike announced by the State government today comes into effect.

The hike is effective for express buses and above (up to AC buses), and will fetch an additional revenue of Rs 286 crores for the loss-making corporation, which suffered a Rs 2,275-crore loss, Transport Minister P Mahender Reddy said.

Addressing the media at the Secretariat on Thursday along with TSRTC Chairman Somarapu Satyanarayana and Managing Director G V Ramana Rao, Reddy said that the hike was unavoidable as the State had not increased the fares from 2013 despite a Rs 2 crore loss every day. The RTC suffered a loss of Rs 751 crores just last year, and "we are compelled to recover it through a little hike in the charges," he said. "Though Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh have increased the bus charges last year, we are doing it only now," he added.

The minister said efforts were being made to see that the TSRTC would turn a profit-making unit, and towards buying 1,200 new buses soon. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was lending a helping hand to the TSRTC in its efforts to tide over the crisis, he dutifully added.

The old and new bus charges per km are: 79 paise to 87 paise for express, 89 paise to 98 paise for deluxe, Rs 1.05 to Rs 1.16 for super luxury, Rs 1.32 to Rs 1.46 for Indra, and Rs 1.55 to Rs 1.71 and Rs 1.65 to Rs 1.82 for Garuda+ services. Palle Velugu buses up to 30 km would see a hike of Rs 1 and Rs 2 above the limit, he said.