Nagpur: In view of steep increase in diesel rate, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), on the lines of MSRTC, has decided to hike increase the Aapli Bus fares substantially to tackle the burden.The Municipal Commissioner Radhakrishnan B has reportedly signed the proposal put forward by Transport Department increasing the Aapli Bus fares by 17 percent.
According to reports, MSRTC has revised bus fares on all routes across Maharashtra by 17% on average and the new fares came into effect from October 2021.
Notably, diesel prices have gone up by Rs 10 per litre since March 22. Now the fuel rate is Rs 102.88 per litre in Nagpur. Last time NMC had revised the Aapli Bus fares was in January 2019, when it effected an approximately 25% hike in almost all routes.
According to sources, the Transport Department had submitted a proposal on revision of Aapli Bus fares before the Transport Committee in December 2021. However, the then Chairman Jitendra Kukde had rejected the proposal, citing angry reaction from commuters of Aapli Bus in the election year.
The civic body currently runs 361 Aapli Buses on over 100 routes. The average earning per kilometre of NMC is around Rs 27.21 and earning per bus is around Rs 5,308. As on April 4, NMC has been paying Rs 70.40 per km to three operators for plying 172 standard buses. Similarly, it paid Rs 64.65 and Rs 50.39 per km for operating 141 midi and 42 mini buses, besides Rs 43.51 per km for six electric buses. These buses are making around 4,300 trips every day.
The NMC’s Transport Department data revealed that the average number of passengers travelling in Aapli Bus every day is around 71,000 and its income hovers between Rs 16 lakh and Rs 19 lakh.
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