Chandigarh, May 3
The Punjab Government is considering a proposal for a 10 per cent hike in bus fares in the state.

The hike in bus fares is regarded as a politically sensitive issue. Therefore, the government is taking its own time to examine all aspects of the proposal. But the Transport Department appears to have made out a convincing case for the hike which has been forwarded to the government for a decision. The government did carry out a modest increase in the bus fares — one paisa per passenger per km — only a few weeks ago. But this is regarded as inadequate in the face of continuous rise in the prices of diesel and other petroleum products. Rates of tyres and tubes have also shown an upward trend.

According to official sources here today, the recommendation for a hike in bus fares has been made by the Transport Department following an interaction with the representatives of the state-owned Punjab Roadways, PRTC and private bus service operators. Both Punjab Roadways and PRTC are deeply in the red. The private bus operators too have been clamouring for an increase in bus fares to make their operations more viable.

At present, the fare works out to 42 paise per passenger per km. The department has recommended that it should be raised to 44 paise per km. The department has cited the recent hike in bus fares in the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh in support of its case. The fares in the hilly state were recently raised to 47 paise per passenger per km in the plains and to 72 paise in the hills. The Himachal government’s notification ordering the bus fare hike has also been forwarded to the government.

The state government is already committed to bringing about uniformity in bus fares in the neighbouring states, as decided at a meeting of transport officials of northern states held here a few months ago representing Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.