Bhubaneswar, Feb. 12: Fares of both government and private buses were whittled down for the second time in the past eight days today in tune with the fall in diesel prices.

To match fares with the fall in diesel prices, the government today reduced price of tickets by 2 paise per kilometre for various categories of buses. Only on February 4, the government reduced the price of bus tickets by 1 paisa per kilometre after fuel prices fell by Rs 2.49 per litre.

Announcing the reduction in prices of bus tickets in the Assembly today, commerce and transport minister Ramesh Majhi said that the technical committee took the decision to cut down fares by 2 paise per kilometre following fall in diesel prices.

"After the reduction, the fare for ordinary buses would be 57 paise per kilometre, while it would be 60 paise per kilometre for express buses. The price of tickets for AC buses have gone down to 80 paise per km, while it would be 99 paise per km for AC deluxe buses," he said, adding that the new fares would be applicable with immediate effect.

Passengers are happy that unlike the last time - when the state government had reduced bus fares by 1 paisa per km - this time, it has reduced it by 2 paise per km. Today's fare cut was the fifth in a row since October 29 last year.

On August 19 last year, the fares had gone up varying between 5 and 8 paise per km for all types of buses, when the diesel price rose to Rs 62.28 per litre. Since then, the diesel prices have gone down by Rs 12.82 per litre and bus fares have fallen by 7 paise per km.

Private bus operators welcomed the move but said it would be better if the state government approved the automatic fare revision formula proposed by them as this would allow passengers to enjoy the benefit of lower fares immediately after a fall in diesel prices. Similarly, fares would go up as soon as the diesel rates rise.

"This time, the state government took eight days to decide on the fare cut, while last time it had taken 18 days. The technical committee takes its own time to decide on fare reduction, but people blame us for the delay. The automatic fare revision formula is the best option in such situations," said Debendra Sahoo, general secretary of the All-Odisha Private Bus Owners' Association.

The minister, however, said that the technical committee was looking into the demand for automatic fare revision formula.

Explaining the delay in announcing revised fares, Majhi said: "As it will be a permanent decision, the committee looks into all the possible angles and that takes time."

Though most people felt that bus fares could have been cut down a little more, an association member said it was the Centre and the state government that controlled factors for rise and fall in prices of tickets. He said these factors included prices of lubricants, tyres and spares parts.

"These factors are controlled by multi-national and corporate firms, but neither the Centre nor the state government is taking any action against them. If the prices of these things had dropped, fare reduction would have been around 14 paise per km by now," he said.

Many commuters, however, feel that the cut is negligible. "When diesel prices plunge significantly, one expects a steep slash in fares, but what we get is a notional cut. However, the good thing is that the fares are being knocked down regularly now," said Ruchismita Kar, a regular passenger.