Himachal private bus operators seek hike in fare

Private bus operators in Himachal Pradesh Tuesday demanded hike in bus fare following last week's hike in petroleum prices.

A delegation of Himachal Private Bus Operators Association, led by its president J.R. Sharma, called on Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh here and urged him to increase bus fares in view of the rise in price of diesel.

The chief minister said a committee would be constituted to look into this matter and its recommendations would be considered sympathetically, an official statement said.

Private transport operators, under the banner of the State Private Bus Operators Union, went on statewide daylong strike Aug 26 over their demands, including increase in fare by 40 percent.

The impact of the strike was felt the most in Shimla, Solan, Mandi, Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts.

Nearly 3,000 private buses are plying in the state, besides state-run Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC), which has a fleet over 2,100 buses.

The private operators are playing an important role in ferrying people even in the remotest villages across the state.

Petrol price was increased by Rs.2.35 a litre and diesel by 50 paise a litre last week.