Bhubaneswar: As the nation continued to singe with fuel prices showing no signs of let up over months, the transport industry was happy passing on the incremental burden to passengers without much fuss. However, as the fuel rates keep softening, there has been no corresponding fall in the fares for passengers.
Commuters allege that the government has been dutifully cutting down fares in sync with the fall in fuel rates, but it does not bother to ensure whether the benefits eventually trickle down to the end-users.
Commuters understand that after the introduction of the dynamic fuel pricing in the country, bus fares were made susceptible to fluctuations in fuel rates. Until very recently, fuel prices went on rising creating a mayhem in the country. The state government, bound by its obligations based on the automatic fare revision mechanism, kept pushing the fares up.
The commonman silently suffered in the hope that he will get the respite when the prices will ease. But, they look utterly disillusioned now. Fares are being regularly lowered, but passengers continue to suffer high cost travelling.
Jyoti Ranjan, who travels once a week to Bhubaneswar from Balasore, narrated his ordeal. “I regularly travel by bus. Whenever there is a surge in petrol and diesel prices, the increase in fares is evident but there is no vice-versa exactly.” Similar views were also echoed by other bus commuters.
“Frequent hikes in bus fares are a curse for low-income families who mostly rely on public transport for travelling. But the apathy of the government to ensure that the bus operators revise the fares downward when there is an official drop in prices is shocking,” said Jayant Panda, a city-based student.
Panda mentioned that notices of reduced bus fares are not displayed on buses. Whenever a customer questions this, s/he is faced with rude behaviour of the conductor or the driver.
There is a mechanism to calculate bus fares based on the fuel prices as variables. The transport department fixes the rates for different categories of the buses based on these variables only.
The bus operators do not wait for even a day where there is a definite rise in the fuel rates. They issue all sorts of threats to the authorities to officially increase the prices. And once it is raised, they immediately pass it on to passengers. But in case of a downward revision, they do not bother to slash it.
Prakash Mishra, President of Bus Association, said, “There is no problem with the revision of bus fares as we have adopted automatic bus fare system which is in sync with the fuel prices.”
A bus conductor, on condition of anonymity, said they are helpless as they have to work according to the dictates of their owners. “We are helpless and cannot suo motu change the fares.”
PNN