APSRTC bus travel to  cost more from today

VIJAYAWADA: The APSRTC bus fare is set to go up from July 1 with the increase in diesel cess by the State government. Henceforth, passengers need to shell out Rs 80 more for travel from Vijayawada to Hyderabad in AC buses and Rs 70 more in super luxury buses. 

APSRTC Chairman A Mallikarjuna Reddy and Managing Director Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, in a press release on Thursday, stated that diesel cess on bus tickets has been marginally increased with effect from July 1 due to skyrocketing price of the fuel. On the other hand, the fare of bus passes has been increased by 15%.

The hike in diesel cess per ticket will be implemented under the slab system. In fact, the RTC had increased the diesel cess marginally on April 13. Justifying the hike, Mallikarjuna Reddy and Tirumala Rao said when the bus fare was revised on December 11, 2019, the diesel price per litre was Rs 67 and at the time of the last fare revision on April 13 this year, it was Rs 107, which means Rs 40 rise per litre.

With the diesel (bulk) price increasing to Rs 131 per litre as on June 29, the RTC decided to hike the diesel cess marginally. With the rise in the diesel price, the RTC has to spend Rs 2.5 crore more per day, they said. 

Further, prices of spare parts, lubricants and other expenses have also gone up, forcing the management to hike the cess, they said, urging the travelling public to cooperate with the RTC by understanding the grim situation. 

According to senior RTC officials, the diesel cess hike will help the road transport corporation get an additional revenue of Rs 1,500 crore. However, even after hiking the diesel cess, the RTC cannot reach break even, they said.