TNSTC also goes in for surge pricing

CHENNAI: It’s already happened in the railways and the aviation sector. The name of the game is surge pricing: raise the cost when the demand is high. Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation has just joined the list, as it has begun collecting additional fares for the Diwali rush.On Monday, commuters who boarded buses operated by the Kumbakonam division were forced to pay `100 to `150 more per ticket at the last minute.

The Kumbakonam division of TNSTC, which caters to Central Tamil Nadu, hiked fares on congested routes such as Chennai-Kumbakonam, Chennai-Nagapattinam, Chennai-Thanjavur and Chennai-Thiruvarur. This  came as a shock to those who had to travel ahead of Diwali on Wednesday.
P Badrinathan, a private company employee from Nanganallur, said that on Monday, Tambaram-Vadalur tickets cost `210, as against `110, on Kumbakonam division buses.

Surge pricing on Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation buses since Monday caught commuters unawares.“When I took up the issue of hike in Tambaram-Vadalur fare hike with Tambaram TNSTC officials, they merely said the conductors were following instructions from their divisional officers,” P Badrinathan said.Commuters who travelled to Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai and Thanjavur were fleeced up to `150 per ticket.

K Rakesh, another passenger from Tambaram, said the surge price would spoil their celebration plan as they have to bear the additional cost at the last minute. “For a four-member family, we have to spend `600 more on travel. It will affect the festival celebrations. Had TNSTC announced the ticket fares early, we would have looked at other options. Jacking up the fare at the eleventh hour and informing passengers after boarding the bus is unacceptable, he said.

However, sources in TNSTC State employees federation justified the fare hike, saying passengers should bear the additional cost for special buses.“A TNSTC bus should collect `30 per km. Special buses sourced from various parts of Tamil Nadu are being operated from Tambaram. During transportation, the buses did not even collect `10 per km as the single trips operated with a handful of passengers. Hence, during the return journey, ticket fares were increased by about `100, said a senior TNSTC employee.

With a fleet capacity of 3,181, Kumbakonam TNSTC division carries 25 lakh passengers in 10 districts of Tamil Nadu and in Puducherry a day through six regions - Tiruchy, Kumbakonam, Nagapattinam, Karaikudi, Pudukottai and Karur.When contacted, senior officials of TNSTC-Kumbakonam refused to comment on the bus fare hike.