As the indefinite strike launched by private bus operators entered the third day on Saturday, Transport Minister Antony Raju has appealed to the striking bus operators to shun their stubborn stand and call off the strike.
The State government has agreed to revise bus fares based on the recommendation of the Justice Ramachandran Nair fare revision committee.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) meeting to be held on Wednesday would discuss the issue and take a final decision on the fare revision, Mr. Raju said. The decision to revise the bus fares was taken after holding a discussion with the bus owners and the government was ready to hear further if the bus owners had anything more to say.
The auto and taxi charges would be revised along with the bus fare. The auto-taxi trade unions with whom the State government consulted were ready to repose their faith in the government. But the bus operators had used their last resort of strike in the beginning itself, inconveniencing students and public alike, Mr. Raju said.
Meanwhile, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) said that 700 additional services were conducted on Saturday following the private bus strike, while the total number of services it operated on the day was 3,909. The KSRTC also made arrangements to hold additional services on Sunday and Wednesday in view of the two-day all-India strike announced by various trade unions on March 28 and 29.
Arrangements were made for holding essential services on Monday and Tuesday in connection with the strike call. Service on other main routes would be conducted as per the traffic demand, availability of employees and with the support of the police, said KSRTC in a release.
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