A Re 1 safety cess on buses of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), coupled with rounding off the fare to the next multiple of ₹5, will see passengers paying more to travel in city and rural areas.
TSRTC sources told The Hindu that safety cess is being collected from Thursday for passengers using mofussil services, and from Friday for those using city buses.
The circular states that Palle Velugu ticket fare would be rounded off to the “nearest” multiples of 5. It also states that “the final fare shall be rounded off to the nearest multiple of ₹5 after adding safety cess (Re. 1) and applicable toll plaza tariff to the base fare.” This means that in case the fare is ₹13, it would be rounded off to ₹15. Similarly, if the fare is ₹17, it would be reduced to a lower multiple of ₹5, which is ₹15.
City ordinary services too have been rounded off to the next multiple of ₹5 from the fifth stage onward. Now, instead of ₹15, passengers will have to pay ₹20. At the next stage, instead of ₹20, the ticket fare will be rounded off to ₹25. In the case of Metro Express, instead of ₹15, passengers will have to pay ₹20 at the third stage. For Metro Deluxe, the rounding off will come into effect from the second stage. Instead of ₹15, passengers would have to pay ₹20.
Meanwhile, passengers travelling within the city were caught unawares, not realising that they would have to pay higher amounts. “I came to know about the increase after I boarded the bus. Maybe they are doing it to deal with the losses,” said a frequent commuter.
Others, like transport researcher G S R Chaitanya pointed out, “Rounding off fares helps passengers with small change, but it is unfair on those relying on changing multiple buses. A ₹5 increase will result in increased spending of ₹20 per day if they are relying on four buses. A fare hike is not the answer to a financial crunch and such a move would make access to affordable transport difficult,” he added.
Speaking to The Hindu, TSRTC Managing Director V C Sajjanar clarified that the rounding off should not be misconstrued as a fare hike. He said that while on the one hand, such as is the case with city ordinary buses, the fare was being rounded off to the next multiple of ₹5, in many other cases, such as those in Palle Velugu, the rounding off was being done to a previous multiple, which is lower. “This is not a fare hike. The basic fare is the same. There are no profits being made. It is to deal with the issue of change and to tackle the inconvenience faced by conductors and passengers and to take care of compensation payments. Please understand that this is not a fare hike.”
