A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday stayed an order of the single judge of the court permitting the hike in bus fare announced during the lockdown period. The minimum charge will now continue to be ₹8.
It was on an appeal filed by the State government challenging the order of the single judge that the Division Bench issued the order. The State had contended that the revision of bus fares would put additional burden on the general public.
Incidentally, the State had allowed a 50% revision of bus fares on May 19 when traffic curbs imposed during the lockdown period was lifted and the public transport vehicles were allowed to resume operations. The minimum fare was thus hiked to ₹12 considering the directives of the Central government that only one passenger should occupy a seat and passengers should observe physical distancing norms while travelling.
However, the State rolled back the hike on June 2 and restored the minimum rate to ₹8 when more relaxations were introduced for public transport system and two passengers were permitted to occupy a seat. The government decision to roll back the hike was challenged by bus operators.
A single judge of the court stayed the decision to roll back the bus fare on a petition filed by Johnson Payyappally, the Chalakudy unit secretary of the All Kerala Bus Operators Forum.
Challenging the stay order issued by the single judge, the State submitted that tax rebates were offered to bus owners for the quarter ending June to make good for the loss they suffered during the lockdown period and restriction on operating the vehicles. The fuel cost was also reduced subsequently, which would have benefited the operators, the State submitted.
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