Less than three days after hiking the water charges by more than 23 percent, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has now dropped another bombshell by mooting a proposal to increase fares in public transport buses.
Citing the steep increase in fuel prices, spare parts and manpower, the public transport committee had tabled a proposal before the municipal commissioner Dilip Dhole seeking an upward revision of fare structure in the range of ₹6 to ₹16.
Commissioner trimmed proposed hike
However, the commissioner trimmed the proposed hike to ₹2 to ₹12 and sent the proposal seeking approval from the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) which is necessary before implementing any type of revision in the existing fare structure. Along with the proposal seeking a nod for a fare hike in regular buses, the civic administration has also mooted the idea of reducing fares of air-conditioned buses in the range of ₹2 to ₹11.
The civic administration has a total of 74 buses including- 59 regular buses, 5 air-conditioned Volvo buses, and 10 Midi buses in its existing fleet. Currently, 71 out of the 74 buses are plying on 19 routes in and out of the twin city. The average number of commuters travelling in MBMT buses daily has already crossed the 80,000 mark.
Hike in fares after 10 years
The fares have remained unchanged for the past ten years. “ Even after the hike, the fare structure of our public transport system will remain competitive as compared to other civic bodies.” said Dhole. The MBMC will soon add 57 electric buses to its existing fleet, which will be run by a private operator on a Gross Cost Contract (GCC) system which is a wet-lease model.
Buses to be maintained by private contactor
Under this model, the buses will be owned, maintained, and driven by a private contractor who will also pay for fuel (charging) in exchange for a fixed per-km rate and generate income through advertisements. MBMC will only deploy conductors to collect revenue through ticket sales. Earlier proposals moved by the civic administration to impose a fare hike had been rejected by the erstwhile general body. However, the 5-year-term of the term of the BJP-led ruling governance ended in August, 2022 and the municipal commissioner used it as a window to moot the hikes in his capacity as administrator.
