Calling it an inevitable step in view of the steep hike in diesel price, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has imposed diesel cess on its tickets, as a result of which people will have to pay more for travel in RTC buses.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Corporation chairman A. Mallikarjuna Reddy and Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Ch. Dwaraka Tirumala Rao said to minimise the revenue loss on account of the steep hike in fuel prices, diesel cess was being imposed on tickets, adding that there was no change in bus fares.
The corporation has imposed a diesel cess ₹2 on the tickets of Palle Velugu and city ordinary services, ₹5 on Express, City Metro Express and Metro Deluxe services, and ₹10 on Super Luxury and A/C buses. The rates come into effect from April 14 (Thursday), he said, informing that a minimum fare in Palle Velugu and City ordinary bus services now would be ₹10. The move would help the APSRTC generate an additional revenue of ₹7,500 crore per annum, he said.
Mr. Rao recalled the yeoman services of the public sector transport organisation in the last 75 years. The 11,271 buses in its fleet had been covering 41 lakh kilometres of distance, catering to the transport needs of nearly 45 lakh people in the State. The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic caused a serious dent in the RTC revenues and it incurred a loss of ₹5,680 crore in the two years, from March, 2020 to March, 2022.
“Despite such serious financial losses, the organisation desisted from any fare hike considering the overall financial implications of the virus on the common man,” said Mr. Rao.
He said the last revision of ticket prices was done on December 11 in 2019 when the cost of diesel was ₹67 per litre. “Today, it costs ₹107 a litre, an increase of ₹40,” he said.
Informing that the fleet of APSRTC buses consumed 8 lakh litres of diesel every day and the fresh hike in its price had put an additional burden of ₹3.2 crore daily, he said to overcome this difficult situation, the corporation had to impose cess. “People should understand this and extend their support to the APSRTC,” he appealed.
