Long-distance buses will start plying from the steel city from Sunday with the Jamshedpur Bus Owners’ Welfare Association (JBOWA) proposing a fare hike.
Around 125 long-distance buses ply from Sitaramdera bus terminus to Bihar, Bengal, and Odisha. The state government has given permission to operate long-distance buses which were discontinued since March owing to the pandemic.
JBOWA president Ram Uday Prasad Singh said that they will resume bus service from Sunday with the old fare but it would not be possible to continue it for long. “Prices of fuel and spare parts have gone up. It will not be possible to continue with the old fare for long. We request the state government to give serious thought to this issue otherwise we would be forced to increase it (fare) by 40% after Chhath,” he added.
According to him, they have also sent a proposal to the Jharkhand Bus Owners’ Association for increasing the fare. “We cannot survive if the fare is not hiked. Prices of fuel, lubricants, tyres and spare parts have gone up. This will have a direct bearing on our operational costs. It has become imperative for us to hike the bus fare. But we’ll wait till Chhath,” Singh said.
Upender Sharma, JBOWA patron-in-chief stated, “The government has not hiked the fare but has allowed ferrying passengers as per the seating capacity of buses.”
According to him, they have requested the government for a fare hike. “We have proposed a fare hike. If the government does not accept this then we will have no option but to stop operations. We are not in a position to incur any further losses,” Sharma added.
JBOWA president Singh added few passengers would prefer to travel by bus for the fear of coronavirus. “This is another problem which we will have to face. We request the passengers to book tickets as there are people who plan outstation trips to other states in view of Diwali and Chhath,” Singh said while thanking the state government for allowing passengers as per the vehicle’s seating capacity.
He said that they would adhere to the state government’s guidelines while plying their buses. “We will ply our vehicles by strictly following the guidelines of the state government. The pandemic has not fully subsided and we need to be very careful in dealing with the situation,” Singh added.
