Cabinet approves bus-auto fare revision

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The State Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to revise bus-auto fares considering the sharp rise in fuel prices and related costs.

The deficiencies in the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) fare stages were also fixed.

As per the approved fare, autorickshaws can charge a minimum of ₹30 for 1.5 km and ₹15 for each subsequent km. The minimum charge for a quadri-cycle is ₹35 and ₹15 for each subsequent km.

For taxis below 1500cc, the minimum charge for up to 5 km will be ₹200 and ₹18 for each subsequent km, while the minimum charge will be ₹225 and ₹20 per km for the taxis above 1500cc.

Lesser burden

Although the bus fare has been revised, it will reduce the fare on many routes as the deficiencies in the fare stage have been rectified, said Transport Minister Antony Raju. The charge has been modified nominally so as not to be a huge burden on passengers.

While the fare on ordinary buses is slightly higher, the fares on many super class buses will be lower than the present fare. Ordinary minimum charge has been revised from ₹8 to ₹ 10 and km rate from ₹ 90 to ₹1 per km, while the minimum distance of 2.5 km is unchanged. The city fast minimum fare is ₹12 and the km fare is 103 paise. Only a slight change has been made in the ratio of ordinary fares to higher class buses. The minimum fare on fast passenger is ₹15 and the km charge is 105 paise.

Minimum charge

There is no minimum charge increase for super class services from super express onwards. The minimum fare for a superfast bus will be ₹22 and the fare will be 108 paise per km. 

Although the km rate has been increased to 110 paise in super express buses, there will be no significant change in the bus fare as the minimum charge has been fixed at ₹35 and distance increased to 15 km.

The km rate of super air express will be reduced by 2 paise and the minimum fare will be increased from 10 km to 15 km. super deluxe buses have been kept at a minimum charge of 5 paise per km. The minimum charge on a multiaxle semi-sleeper has been maintained and the per km rate has been reduced by 25 paise. The fare per km for general low floor AC buses has been reduced by 12 paise.

There is no change in the rates for single axle air conditioned, high tech, and Volvo single axle buses. The current minimum charge for low floor non-AC generic buses has been reduced from ₹13 to ₹10. The rates for city circular and city shuttle will be the same as ordinary. The Minister also said that with the rectification of the deficiencies in the fair stage determination of KSRTC buses, the complaints of the passengers have been resolved.