The joint action council of private bus operators has decided to call off its proposed indefinite strike from Tuesday following talks initiated by Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran. Leaders of the council who held discussions with the Minister at the government guest house here on Monday said they would wait till February 20 to assess whether the government was committed to a solution to their concerns.
Addressing media after the discussions, Mr. Saseendran said the Ramachandran commission, constituted to look into fare revision, would conduct a hearing within February 20 to address the issues raised by the operators. The commission was also asked to submit a report after its hearing, he said.
Admitting that the bus operators were going through a crisis, the Minister said the government would strive to address their complaints. “The complaints regarding increased vehicle tax will have to be discussed at a higher level. Considering their request, the deadline for fixing the Global Positing System in buses has been extended to December 31,” he added.
Referring to the demand to hike students’ concession fare, the Minister said the government would review the system. The possibility of digitalising student concession cards would be considered after discussions with student union leaders and bus operators.
Mr. Saseendran agreed to present some of the operators’ demands before the Union Finance Minister. Calculation of vehicle tax based on the number of seats is among the demands.
Demand on fare
Bus Operators’ Joint Action Committee chairman Lawrence Babu, general convener T. Gopinath and convener K.B. Suresh Kumar attended the meeting. The bus operators declared the strike mainly seeking a revision of the minimum fare from ₹8 to ₹10. They had also sought a hike in the students’ fare from ₹1 to ₹5.
