Thursday, 24 November 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
The transport department is working on a plan to increase the fares of public transport every year. The department has already drafted a proposal to present in the meeting of the State Transport Authority (STA) which is scheduled to be held on November 25. Most of the time when the transport department proposes an increment in the fare following the procedure like holding meetings with officials and representatives of transport unions, the officials said that it usually faces stiff resistance either from the transport operators or public for increasing the fare.
Since the process to determine the fair price takes several months considering the objections of parties involved and other factors, the fair is increased after two to three years. Sometimes the transporters express their dissatisfaction with the increased fare while the general public usually sees it as a sudden rise in the fare that potentially affects their financial aspects, said the officials. Talking about the proposal, the joint transport commissioner Sanat Kumar Singh said that the department will present the proposal in the STA meeting for an automatic increase in the fare at a fixed rate every year.
The process is followed in many government bodies like for regular increases in the rate of electricity and water bills but since the fare is increased usually in two to three years, the rate of fare increase appears sudden and high, said Singh. “We are planning to increase the fare of public transport like buses, Vikrams, auto rickshaws, and others every year at a certain rate so that the new fare would not be much higher than the previous one. The rate would be determined as per the inflation but the department would try to keep it economical to all,” Singh said. He added that the department will also propose to bring uniformity in the rules of the department in Dehradun, Almora, Haldwani, and Pauri. He said, “In some areas, it is easier to get the permit for Vikram’s but difficult to get the same for taxis and vice versa which poses problems to transport operators. Further action will be taken if the proposals get approved in the STA meeting.”
