19 July,2011 07:11 AM IST | | A Correspondent
To keep up with the rise in fuel costs, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) increased the fare for its AC Volvo service Shivneri between Mumbai and the city last week. Commuters have been much more accommodative of the fares this time, with some some even suggesting the hike should have been more. The earlier fare was Rs 270 but has been increased by Rs 50.
Girish Sawant (28), an engineer from the city, who often travels to Mumbai said the hike was a bit too much. "They can easily offset the rise in fuel cost by a Rs 20 to Rs 30 hike but this too much. They will lose a lot of loyal customers who will shift to private buses plying between the city and Mumbai," he said.
Chetan Gaonkar (25) from Mumbai said the hike was expected and did not come as a shock to him. "The moment fuel prices started increasing, I knew the corporation would hike the fares. In any case, they are the last ones to pass the burden to passengers since it is a government agency, and they cannot aim at maximising profit. But paying Rs 310 will pinch our purse," he said.u00a0
Harshawardhan D, a musician from Mumbai who often travels to the city, said that even a further hike in fares would have been justified. "Fuel prices will keep on rising so passengers should brace themselves for hikes. Operators have no other alternative, if they have to continue running the service. But I don't think this is a permanent situation. Prices are bound to come down," he said.u00a0
Shamika Chavan (24) from the city said the hike was unfair and MSRTC should have consulted passenger forums before enforcing the hikes.u00a0 MSRTC officials are claiming increased ridership despite the fare hike.
Vijay Kumar Divate, Swargate bus depot manager, said more and more people were using the bus services because of the rapid development in the city. Ashok Jadhav, divisional traffic controller, too agreed that passenger count had not dipped.
