Thiruvananthapuram: Transport minister A.K. Saseendran will hold a discussion with private bus operators, who are on an indefinite strike demanding a further hike in bus fares, on Sunday. The meeting will be held at Kozhikode Guest House at 4 pm on Sunday. The government has invited representatives of various organisations of bus operators for a meeting. This meeting will be a continuation of the discussions the transport minister had with a section of leaders on Friday.
As the strike entered the second day on Saturday the daily travel woes of the commuter increased. As many as 13,000 private buse owners are on strike. It was under these circumstances that the government has come forward for talks again. However, with the state government already making it clear that they will not go for another fare hike, the transport department will have to work out another formula for ending the strike without increasing ticket charges.
Meanwhile, the KSRTC got a record collection of Rs 7,22,20,782 on Friday, the first day of private bus strike. Though a rupee was increased in the basic fare, the private bus operators are demanding a hike in students’ fare and wanted the government to fix the minimum fares at Rs 10 instead of the present Rs 8 and restructure the fare structure accordingly. Justice Ramachandran Nair Commission had recommended making students’ minimum charge Rs 2 and increasing overall fare by 25 per cent in 2013
