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BANGALORE
No cheap rides anymore, not even for old in Bangalore
public transport is now beyond easy reach for many senior citizens in the city of Bangalore.
Renisha, Manali Darekar and Sangeetha R.
Updated : Jun 30, 2010, 09:13 AM IST
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Public transport is meant to be cheap. For senior citizens, the government even offers concessions. With the recent hike in bus fares, however, many senior citizens fear that even a bus ride will soon be beyond their reach.
PP Govindan, retired chief engineer, BEML, is worried. “My health does not permit me to walk a lot. I prefer taking a bus, even if I just have to sit in it the distance of one bus stop. I don’t travel every day, but when I do, I travel short distances. I live on a pension, and I cannot afford to spend even more on commuting,” he says.
Govindan is not alone. Many senior citizens in a city that used to be called the ‘pensioners’ paradise’ now find themselves squeezed. BNK Giri, 68, is a retired accountant who still works part-time to make ends meet. He travels between AGS Layout and KBS Layout. “Last year, BMTC bus pass fares were hiked to Rs400 for senior citizens. This year, it has gone up to Rs450.
Perhaps it will be Rs500 next year? Our pensions remain the same, and my employers won’t hike my salary to meet the extra expense,” Giri says.
The BMTC’s announcement of a hike in ticket rates and bus passes has come as a bit of a shock to pensioners. Senior citizens will now have to pay Rs450 for black board bus passes; for passes for the red board buses, (Suvarna, Janapriya Vahini and Pushpak), they will now have to pay Rs590 instead of the earlier Rs540. The daily pass is priced at Rs35; and it’s higher if one does not have an identity card.
“The BMTC offers concession of 25 % in fares to senior citizens in all types of buses; despite that, the hikes have been so frequent that we stand to benefit little. The monthly pass for the black board buses for a senior citizen is now 12% more expensive. The percentage of the hike is inexplicable — fuel prices have gone up, but by only 5%; if you consider the hike as a percentage, bus fares have gone up by 33%,” explains MP Rajendran, a senior citizen who has the mathematics of the price rise down pat.
