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The indefinite strike invoked by private bus owners in Kerala, which entered its fifth day on Tuesday, was called off after a meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The chief minister requested them to withdraw the stir as commuters were badly affected. He promised them that their demands would be entertained at a later stage. Transport Minister AK Saseendran was present at the meeting.
The stir began on Friday after private bus owners demanded minimum fares to be raised to Rs 10 from the current Rs 7, and student concession fare to be hiked to Rs 2 from Re 1 currently. They contended that they have had to deal with mounting losses, especially after regular hikes in diesel prices. Though the government increased minimum fares to Rs 8 among local city buses, the private bus owners association wasn’t pleased. Since students formed a major share of passengers, they wanted concession fares to be hiked, which was not acceptable to the government. An earlier meeting with the transport minister over fare hike had failed on Sunday.
The state government had warned that permits of buses would be cancelled by the Motor Vehicles Department if they did not resume services. Growing public anger over the stir is seen to have forced the LDF government’s hand to quell the private bus stir. Close to 4,500 private buses are known to operate in the state.
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