Odisha govt hikes bus fare in state

With the prices petrol and diesel spiralling in the country, Odisha government today hiked bus fares in the state as per the automatic fare adjustment mechanism, a notification said.

The fares for ordinary and express buses have been hiked by two paise per kilometer, while the fare for deluxe and AC Deluxe category buses have been increased by four paise per km, a notification by the Commerce and Transport department said.

The fare for ordinary buses will now be 70 paise per km as against 68 paise per km earlier and the fare for express buses will be 73 paise up from 71 paise per km.

Besides, the fare for deluxe buses will be Rs 1.01 per km as against 97 paise while AC deluxe buses will charge Rs 1.23 instead of Rs 1.19 per km, the notification added.

"We had urged the state government to urgently revise the bus fare in proportion to the hike in the price of the fuel. The bus owners are making huge loss due to hike in the price of petrol and diesel," All Odisha Private Bus Owners Association general secretary Debendra Sahu told reporters.