The West Bengal government today decided to hike bus and minibus fares in the state by Re one over existing stages of fares in view of hike in diesel prices and cost of spare parts.
"The minimum fare for buses will be Rs six and for minibuses Rs seven and will increase by Re one over existing fares in every stage," senior state minister Partha Chatterjee said after a meeting held by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with bus and minibus operators here.
As such, passengers would have to pay Rs six for travelling four kilometres in the first stage for buses and one Re more on existing fares in successive stages.
For minibuses, the hiked fare would be Rs seven for the first two kilometres and one Rupee over every subsequent stage.
The new fares would be effective as soon as a notification for the hike was issued by the Transport Department and a new fare structure was ready.
"The chief minister has also ordered setting up of a task force to suggest future fare revision on the basis of change in fuel and spare parts," Chatterjee, the state Higher Education Minister, told newspersons.
The committee would start functioning from mid-April, 2015, he said.
Bus and minibus operators have been demanding a fare revision for long in view of an increase of diesel prices by around Rs 13 since the last fare hike in September, last year, according to Joint Council of Bus Syndicates president Sadhan Das.
The operators had called a three-day strike from August 20, but had decided to defer it following a request from the government in view of the chief minister being in Singapore during that time.
No decision has, however, been taken over any hike on taxi fares.
Cabbies have kept their vehicles off the roads for four days this month demanding a fare hike.
