Financial crisis drives APSRTC to hike fares

New fares to come into effect form Wednesday midnight

From Thursday onwards, travelling in the APSRTC will be more expensive. The RTC management on Wednesday decided to hike the bus fares by 20-25 percent and sought to justify the same citing unprecedented cash crunch. The hike varies from 8 -25 paise per km for different categories of the buses. The decision comes as a rude shock to many coming as it does, at a time when the State is caught up in a political crisis and food inflation is calling new heights every week.

The State run corporation reeled out a long list of reasons for burdening due to hike in prices of diesel, spare parts, Tyres and others has spiked its expenditure by nearly 36 percent, agitations in the State caused a loss of Rs.240 crores all together 700 RTC buses had been damaged in the recent violence and the last but not the lease, the 24 percent hike in fitment to APSRTC employees announced the other day to avert the threat of yet another strike.

The Minister for Transport, Vijayaramaraju speaking to media said that the bus fares were hiked as a last ditch effort to save the cash strapped APSRTC. The government is left with no alternative but to hike fares. Despite the rise in petrol and diesel prices, fares have not hiked in the past four years, he said. According to revised fares, the commuters will be charged a minimum of Rs.5 up to 4 km, Rs.7 up to 10km and so on in ordinary services and Rs.7 up to 4 km and Rs.9 up to 10 km in Express city services.

Andhra News