Fares of DTC to Undergo Hike to Combat Financial Losses

The finance department of Delhi has given its approval to increase the prices of tickets and passes in the buses operated by Delhi Transport Corporation, by over 50%, in order to offset the losses incurred by DTC every year, to the tune of around 1000 crore INR. The last fare revision was done half a decade back during 2009. This time around, though the Finance Department has approved the fare hikes, the final confirmation is yet to be given by the LG. Every year, proposals for fare hike, though initiated, were never implemented because they were stalled when the proposals reached the Cabinet.

Currently, the DTC has around 5100 AC and non AC buses. A massive 12000 trips have been reported to have missed due to the bad condition of these buses and fewer drivers or conductors. In a bid to solve all these problems, the Finance Department, after a thorough analysis for about 2 years, has come up with the proposal to increase the fare by 50%: from 5 to 10 INR in non-AC, from 10 to 15 INR in AC, from 100 to 200 INR for monthly pass for students and from 800 to 1000 INR for general pass for the bus commuters.

A spokesperson from the DTC confirmed that with the frequent increases in CNG prices, it was becoming quite taxing to operate the buses, which was the reason why the corporation suffered heavy financial losses every year. The proposal for fare hike would be submitted to the LG by the month of June to get the final nod, according to an official from DTC.