Private bus operators hike fares during festival seasons as government-operated transport systems fail to meet the demand.
Published Oct 30, 2024 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 30, 2024 | 1:05 PM
Fleecing of bus passengers has become a norm every festival season in Tamil Nadu as people are desperate to be with their loved ones.
This Deepavali, too, is no different. On Sunday, 27 October, Transport Minister SS Sivasankar said an estimated five lakh people would leave Chennai over three days to celebrate the Deepavali festival on 31 October.
The actual number of people heading to Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Kanniyakumari, and other southern districts, however, would be around double the official estimate.
The railways has announced special schedules, and TNSTC, too, would be plying additional buses to clear the festival rush. However, they fall short of the demand.
Taking advantage of the situation, private bus operators ferry passengers at exorbitant fares.
While private carriage operators charge anywhere between ₹1,960 and ₹3,270 per head for a Chennai-Tirunelveli trip on normal weekdays and weekends depending on the bus category, they make a passenger poorer by ₹2,000 to ₹4,400 on special occasions.
Deepavali-time bus fares. (South First)
To prevent the private bus operators from fleecing the passengers, the government held a meeting — now a regular fixture — before the festival. At each such meeting, the government would warn the operators of stringent action, if they made passengers shell out huge sums as ticket fares.
This year, the meeting was held on 24 October. “The owners have promised to help the public travel on the occasion of Deepavali without increasing the fares like last year,” Minister Sivasankar said after the meeting.
The government also published a phone number, 1800-425-6151, for the passengers to lodge complaints. If the complaints were found true, the operator would be forced to refund the fare, besides getting slapped with a penalty for the violation.
“The government cannot monitor all private carriages. Officials are there to take care of the problems,” the minister said.
A regular bus passenger said new operators raise fares. “It is not appropriate for the government to say that it cannot monitor all booking apps,” he said on the condition of anonymity.
He wondered how many passengers would complain. The passenger urged the government to initiate proactive measures to rein in the operators. He suggested implementing a uniform fare regime for private bus operators.
All-Omni Bus Owners Association President A Anbazhagan said the organisation has instructed its members to operate buses at the fare announced after the negotiation with the government in 2023.
“This year, we sought the government’s permission to increase the fare. But the government asked us not to increase the fare,” he said.
Anbazhagan added that the members have been urged not to hike the fares at the last minute.
The government has announced that it would operate 14,086 Deepavali special buses, besides plying private buses on contract. However, special bus tickets were sold out soon after the booking facility opened. The same was the case with railways.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
