Chennai: Charging the state government with increasing the bus fares indirectly, leader of Opposition M.K. Stalin on Wednesday warned that his party would hold agitations if the move is not dropped.
He said the government had increased the VAT on petrol and diesel even before the budget and it had raised the bus fares without announcement. Ordinary buses have been converted into ‘buses with express fares’, he said and added 766 of the ordinary buses in the city have been brought under the express fare category. The difference of bus fare in ordinary and the express buses will come to about Rs 7 per stage, he said.
Despite collecting express fares, the buses are halting in all bus stops and people are forced to pay additional fares in ordinary buses, he alleged. The indirect bus fare will affect flower, vegetable and fish vendors and other poor sections of people, he complained.
