Taking a cue from their counterparts in West Bengal,the private bus operators in Punjab on Friday threatened they will stop plying their vehicles from October 1 if the state government failed to increases bus fares and value added tax (VAT) on diesel and cut the motor vehicle tax. The operators said it has become unfeasible for them to ply their vehicles owing to the Rs 5 per litre hike on diesel announced by the Centre. The state charges 9.34 per cent VAT on diesel,which converts to Rs 4.02 per litre. We will not be plying buses from next month if our demand to hike the fare and reduce VAT on diesel was not accepted by Punjab government by September 30, Punjab Motor Union,working president Jagdish Sahni told reporters here. Sahni said that Rs 5 per litre increase in diesel rate would put an additional annual burden of Rs 1.80 lakh per bus. Bus operators sought a hike of 0.15 paise per km,almost 23 per cent,in bus fare,besides demanding reductions in motor vehicle tax from Rs 2.25 per km to Rs 1.25 a km. PMU secretary,Rajinder Singh Bajwa,said,The state government should increase the bus fares from 66 paise per km to 81 paise per km. Also,VAT on diesel should be reduced . He said that it was on December 13,2010 that the bus fares were last revised from 56 paise per km to 66 paise per km. In the last two years diesel price has gone up by Rs 8.50 per litre while fares have remained constant, Bajwa said. State-owned Punjab Roadways and PRTC too have demanded a hike of 0.22 paise per km in bus fare. There are around 3,800 private buses operating on different routes of the state,he said adding,Punjab Roadways and PRTC have 4,200 and 2,800 buses respectively. Meanwhile,Punjab Transport Minister Ajit Singh Kohar said the bus fare will have to be hiked and the matter is under active consideration of the state government. Following the hike in diesel price,the bus fare will have to be increased but at the same time we want to ensure that minimum financial burden is passed on to the commuters,he said.
