Jamshedpur: After diesel prices touched Rs 84 a litre, long distance bus operators of Jamshedpur said they are likely to hike the ticket fares by around 30% in order to remain in business after being able to operate following months of lockdown.
Convenor of Jamshedpur Bus Operators Association (JBOA) Upendra Kumar Sharma said, “To ensure a uniform hike in the fare across the state, a formal round of consultation is underway and the hike will be announced simultaneously.”
Noting that they are hugely hit by the steep hike in fuel prices, bus operators said ever since lockdown they have been facing financial problems. “The cost of the diesel in January 2020 was Rs 62 per litre and a year later, it is above Rs 84. There is no sign of any relief in sight either,” said a functionary of JBOA, Uday Pratap Singh.
“Since the state government had appealed to us, we did not increase the fare since September when interstate long distance bus services had resumed, but now there is no option,” said Kunal Kumar, a bus operator.
Another bus operator, Abhishek Sharna, said running the service without increasing the fare will lead to a major loss. “The Centre should announce a mechanism to check fuel prices or the state government should announce a relief by reducing its share in the fuel tax structure,” he said.
Notably, 450 long distance buses operate from Jay Prakash Bus Terminus in Bhuyadih and Sakchi area every day and an approximate 22,000 passengers avail the services daily to travel to different location of Bihar, Odisha, Bengal and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
Petrol refilling station owner Harvinder Singh Bhatia said, “Customers who earlier placed orders for 60 litre are now buying only 40 litre.”
“Ultimately, it is the passengers who have to bear the brunt of the hike in fuel prices,” said 56-year-old Bistupur resident Sundar Sharma, who often travels to his native town in Bihar’s Bhojpur.