Bus owners threaten strike
The city, which depends mainly on private bus transport, is in for trouble if bus owners go ahead with their strike threat. The government is not likely to accept all their demands.
These include: a 10 paise per km hike for ordinary buses, cut in concession to students, no permits to KSRTC on their monopoly routes and removal of the ban on 15-year-old buses.
In a meeting held in the city on Monday, the private bus owners stated that bus charges alone would not be financially viable, additionally they wanted to charge 50 per cent of the original ticket rates from students.
“Currently we’re allowed to charge only 10 per cent from students. If even 100 students travel, we may get only Rs 50, the cost of one litre of diesel.
So we won’t back out of the indefinite strike proposed from September 24 midnight, unless both our demands are met by the government,” said Lawrence Babu, General Secretary of the newly-formed Kerala State Bus Owners’ Confederation.
The confederation is a product of an amalgamation of five private bus owners’ associations. It represents over 80 per cent of the buses running in the state.
“While we’re asked to give student concessions in all our buses, the KSRTC is doling out the facility along select routes,” he charged.
In effect, the demand for a minimum fare of Rs 7 and a hike of 10 paise per km will mean commuters will have to dole out Rs 10 to travel 7.5 km instead of the earlier Rs 7 in an ordinary bus.
“We’ll submit the demands to the government and expect a decision by Wednesday when the cabinet meets. The transport minister Aryadan Muhammed has already called our hike demand reasonable,” Babu said.
The citizens are a worried lot as the now “sure fare hike” will make holes in their pockets. “The bus fares are going up, vegetable prices are soaring…but there is no corresponding increase in salaries,” complained Dhanya R, an employee with a private bank.
“Students availing of bus concessions in the city may be very few. So they should reconsider charging us 50 per cent, though we welcome the demand for a clear-cut definition of students who can avail of the facility,” said Shyam Raj, a student with LBS Kalamassery.
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