Pay more for bus rides in Ahmedabad

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has decided to implement fare hike in public transport services from January 6.

The commuters will now have to pay 50%-100% more for using Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Services (AMTS) services. On the other hand, Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) ride has become costlier by 33%.

The new fare structure is expected to add Rs18 lakh to AMTS's daily income.

The state government, on Tuesday, approved the proposal of fare hike by AMTS and Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd (AJL), the parent company governing BRTS operations in the city. The proposed hike in transport prices is seen as fallout of recent increase in fuel rates.

Meanwhile, the Congress blamed lack of sufficient buses and under-utilisation of manpower for liquidity crunch in AMTS. "AMC is providing transport service as optional service to people so the state government should help the corporation. Moreover, both the services have to bear burden of 24% VAT on diesel and which is why the government should remove VAT on diesel consumed by public transport buses," said Badruddin Shaikh, leader of Opposition in AMC. He said fare hike is not the only option and administrative changes are a must for complete makeover of both the services.