West Bengal rransport minister Snehasis Chakraborty on Thursday asked private bus and minibus owners to display the fare chart approved by the government in their vehicles.
The minister said the government has asked them to display fare charts as it has received complaints that bus and minibus operators were charging fares exceeding the rates fixed by the transport department.
“We have asked the owners of every stage carriage to put up the fare chart of 2018 in at least one prominent spot in the vehicle. We hope they will comply with the order as early as possible. If they are found to be wanting, we will take appropriate steps... We don't want to have any confrontationist attitude with bus operators on the issue. We are alive to their problems and crisis in the wake of steep hike in fuel prices in recent times,” the minister told PTI.
West Bengal Bus and Minibus Owners’ Association secretary Pradip Narayan Bose told PTI that the fare chart fixed by the state transport department way back in 2018 does not reflect the present situation and address their concerns.
If the transport department insists on private bus operators accepting the base fare of Rs 7-8 of 2018, no buses will hit the streets from the next day, Bose said.
“The state had fixed the base fare rate of Rs 7 in 2018 when the price of diesel was Rs 65 per litre in the city. Diesel price has now escalated to Rs 92 per litre and spare parts to run the vehicles have also spiralled in the meantime... How can it be possible to keep the base fare at Rs 7-8 any more as the situation is not the same,” Bose said.
Responding to this claim by the apex representative body of bus operators, the transport minister said: “In 2018, the state had asked private bus operators to evolve a mechanism, a formula which will fix the fare rate based on the market dynamics, and accommodate the concerns of every stakeholder, including the commuter. But since they could not arrive at a consensus and turned to us, the department had to decide on the fare structure.”
The transport minister said the state does not want a stalemate and wants to arrive at a solution accommodating the concern of all. “The door for talks is open. Let them put up the fare chart again. We will discuss all issues faced by them in threadbare. But we cannot burden the common man any more,” Chakraborty said.
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