Chennai: Transport Minister Tamil Nadu R S Rajakannappan on Tuesday clarified that there was no uniform increase in government bus rates.
The action has begun against the bus conductor in Tiruvallur, which issued a ticket at a higher price to passengers because of an error.
Strict actions will be taken against employees who collect higher tariffs than passengers, the minister tells reporters.
“It is unfair to say that the tariff has been raised in all 20,000 buses only because errors have occurred in several locations,” he said, responding to allegations by leader AIADMK O Pannerselvam about alleged tariff increases.
TOI on Monday has reported how the city bus on the outskirts of Chennai, which allows free trips to women, quietly increases minimum bus rates from 5 to 10 to cover costs incurred.
This draws responses from various political parties including Ops.
Rajakannapan said that the state government had sanctioned 1,200 crores to transportation companies to meet costs incurred in enabling women to travel for free and more than 6.5 crore women have traveled on government buses in the last 22 days.
About 60% of passengers on the city bus today are women.
Answering questions about the Covid-19 protocol, he told 93% of the total 1.22 Lakh employees from the State Transport Department had obtained their Jab and that vehicles were disinfected regularly.