Students were caught unawares with the recent bus pass fare hike and expressed their concerns.
In the city, bus pass prices for students travelling a distance up to 4 km is now ₹450 instead of the previous ₹165. Similarly, students travelling up to 8 km will now have to pay ₹600 as against the old quarterly fare of ₹200.
Students who have to travel up to 12 km, will have to shell out ₹900 instead of the earlier ₹245. The revised student bus pass fare is proportional to the distance travelled.
“This is ridiculous. The increase in bus pass fare directly affects a large section of students. We are not a source for minting money,” Shaik Aslam, a student, said.
Adarsh Bomma, an engineering student, who has to travel from Ghatkesar to Aushapur for college, pointed out that the price is too steep and hoped that the TSRTC would reconsider this hike. He said that the Hyderabad - Ghatkesar - Aushapur monthly student bus pass used to cost ₹235, but is ₹500 now. “This is very high for students who go to college daily,” he said.
Meanwhile, All India Democratic Students’ Organisation district secretary Vinod said that middle class and those from the weaker sections have suffered a severe cut in pay, and some have even lost their jobs and are in debt on account of treatment costs.
“In such a scenario, TSRTC has increased the student bus pass fare, which in some cases is more than double the old rate. A large number of people earn between ₹8,000 and ₹10,000 a month and the price hike is steep. This is like privatising the TSRTC. The government should support TSRTC by allocating funds and developing it,” he said.
