Thiruvananthapuram. Private bus operators in Kerala have called off their four-day agitation after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan assured the association’s office bearers of hike in bus fares. T. Gopinathan, state coordinator of the Private Bus Operators Association, while talking to reporters after meeting the Chief Minister, said that the Chief Minister of the state had assured us that the bus fares would be increased after the Left Democratic Front meeting to be held on March 30. After their assurance, we have decided to call off the strike.
Auto-rickshaw and taxi services were looting money from the public ever since the private buses went off the roads.
Bus operators also want to increase the student concession in buses from the current Rs 2 to Rs 6, which may invite the wrath of strong student unions in the state.
State Transport Minister Antony Raju had held two rounds of meetings with the association of private bus operators, but the meetings did not yield any result.
While the chief minister of the state has assured an increase in bus fare rates, the government has not given any date from which the bus hike will be implemented.
Private bus operators want the minimum fare to be Rs 12 from the current Rs 10 and the student concession should also be increased. They wanted a rate of Re 1 per kilometer after the minimum duty and also sought exemption in taxation.
Private bus services were off the roads in Kerala since March 24.
—AnyTV News
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