Shimla, July 11 (QNN)
State government-run Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) is running its buses within the state, private bus operators have stopped services and demanded a fare hike.
Bus fares in Himachal Pradesh may go up soon as the state government is considering a proposal in this regard, Transport Minister Govind Singh Thakur said .
A final decision is, however, yet to be taken, he told. Bus service within the state resumed on June 1 after a gap of over two months. It was suspended on March 22 as the state went into a lockdown to check the coronavirus spread.
The government has allowed the movement of non-AC buses within the state while retaining curbs on the interstate bus travel.
According to them, it is not economically viable for them to run buses with 60 percent capacity as has been fixed by the government to the check spread of coronavirus. Further, the rate of diesel has gone up, they added.
Meanwhile, the general secretary of the Private Bus Operators Association, Ramesh Kamal, said the transport minister assured them that a decision on hiking bus fares would be taken in the next cabinet meeting.