Public transport to become expensive in Guwahati

The recent diesel price hike is going to pinch the denizens of Guwahati further hard as public transport in the city is expected to become expensive from next month. The minimum bus fare is expected to rise by 50 per cent and minimum fare of share taxi by 60 per cent.

The association representing owners of city busses and share taxis have already asked the state government to revise the fare chart, or else they have announced that they would start charging the proposed revised fares from October 2.

“When diesel has been hiked by Rs. 5, how can we be expected to operate our busses and taxis at without revising the fares? Are we here to incur losses and do business? The government should either revise our fare chart or rollback diesel price hike. City bus owners are left with no option but to revise the fares, if needed unilaterally, to stay in the business,” said Pulak Goswami, president of All Assam Motor Transport Association.

 

Goswami said the association had petitioned the state transport department on September 15 to revise the fare chart within 10 days, but the government paid no heed to its demand. “Since we have not heard anything from the government, we have decided to go ahead unilaterally and charge the revised fares from October 2,” he added.

The minimum bus fare, as per the proposed new chart, would be Rs. 6, instead of Rs. 4, and the maximum fare would be Rs. 19, instead of Rs. 17. The hike would be of Rs. 2 for all slabs. The minimum share taxi fare would be Rs. 8, instead of Rs. 5, and Re. 1 for each kilometre thereafter.

The city bus fares in Guwahati were last hiked in 2010.