Maharashtra: MSRTC bus fares hiked by 17%; Pune Shivneri bus ticket up by Rs 75

MUMBAI : The MSRTC has hiked its bus fares on all routes across Maharashtra by an average 17% and this will come into effect from Tuesday morning.
The fare of popular Shivneri AC buses from Mumbai to Pune has been hiked by Rs 75 per ticket -- from Rs 450 to Rs 525 per seat.
The main reasons for the hike is the huge increase in fuel (diesel) costs which has gone up by 57% past 18 months. A majority of state buses run on diesel although there is plan to convert 1000 into CNG and over 2,000 into electric buses in near future. The MSRTC has a total fleet of 18,000 buses across the state.
The only relief given is for those travelling by overnight ordinary buses. The fares for night trips were 18% more than daytime journeys. "Now we have removed the 18% extra fare and night trip charges will be same as those during daytime travel," a MSRTC spokesperson said, adding that all fares have been made multiples of Rs 5. So, a fare of Rs 113 will now be charged as Rs 115.
While the fare hike will pinch commuters, especially during Covid pandemic, MSRTC managing director Shekhar Channe said that it was "much needed" as there were huge hikes in fuel costs and also increase in operational and maintenance costs.
The cost of diesel was around Rs 66 per litre in Mumbai metropolitan region and this has increased to over Rs 104 per litre -- a jump of 57% in just one and a half years. The MMR includes Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar and parts of Raigad district including Alibagh which has a high demand for state buses.
The MSRTC's diesel expenses per day is around Rs 8.8 crore daily -- which comprises 38% of the total expenditure for running the fleet, sources said. The income on the other hand is 12.9 crore on an average daily in October while the total expenditure has been around Rs 21 crore -- resulting in average daily losses of around Rs 8 crore, the sources added.
"The ridership is 27 lakh commuters across the state daily -- which is just 41% of pre-Covid times. Our total fleet is 18,000 buses of which 12,500 are plying daily now. During the pandemic, we have witnessed a huge dip in ridership over the past one and half years and incurred tremendous losses," said an official. During pre-Covid times, the daily ridership was over 65 lakh.