Tripura govt approves 20-25 per cent hike in fare in public transport

The Tripura government on Tuesday approved a 20-25 per cent hike in fare in all types of public transport in the state.

Transport Minister Pranajit Singharoy said the state government has approved a 20-25 per cent hike in fares in public transport considering different aspects like the last fare hike was in July 2018 and the prices of fuel including petrol and CNG has increased.

The cost of other components like wages of transport employees, tyre and insurance rates have also gone up.

The minister said the hike in fare would come into effect immediately.

''We had approved the last hike in July 2018. Since then the prices of petrol and CNG prices have increased by 30 per cent while the diesel price has increased by 32 per cent.

In such a situation, there had been a demand from the owners of vehicles for increasing the fares. Considering the facts, the state government has approved the hike of transport fare'', Singharoy told reporters.

The passenger fare for ordinary bus has been increased from 58 paise to 73 paise (25 per cent hike) per km. In case of minibus service, the fare has been increased from 72 paise to 90 paise per km. However, the Transport minister said, there was no increase in AC bus fare which would remain at Rs 1.22 per km.

The rates for meter auto fixed at Rs 10 per km and waiting charge of Rs 5 for every 5 minutes.

The Transport minister claimed that the revised auto rates are the lowest in the country.

The minister said the Transport department has also decided to implement some new plans in the public transport system to ensure more convenience to the passengers.

According to the minister, the state government is keen to make public transport available from early morning till late night.

Some of the new steps planned by the Transport department include Express Bus Service (one-stop destination) and small bus service in hill areas.

He said, ''In hill areas, the cost of operation is more. New bus service will be introduced in Kanchanpur- Bhangmun in North Tripura district and Jatanbari-Mandir Ghat routes in Gomati district with special fares. For minibus service, the fare will be Rs 1.20 per km while the rate is Rs.

1.45 per km for small buses in the hill areas.'' ''Many passengers prefer to reach their destinations fast and without any stoppage. With this view, Express Bus service with limited/no stoppage will be introduced with 15 per cent more fare permitted for this service,'' he said.

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