Those category are only for wiping off the pockets of passengers. The fare structure of such buses are starting from the minimum charge of Rs 4.00 then Rs. 5.00, Rs 6.00, Rs 7.00, Rs 8.00 like that only having round figures.
But in city ordinary, these fares are 4.00, 4.50, 5.00, 5.50, 7.00, 8.50, like that. So a passenger always have to pay 50Ps, 1Rs or even 1.50Rs more for the same distance than a city ordinary.
There are almost 195 Ananthapuri Fast Buses in Trivandrum city. These buses have not much difference in stops also as comparing to City ordinaries. If a city ordinary have around 25-30 stops then the same route ananthapuri fast will also have almost 25 stops. More over city service buses are mainly for comfort of local passengers. Some years back the stops of APF was much less than City ordinaries.
One more differential attitude is that in Kochi, KSRTC introduced Thirukochi buses which run in ordinary fares and on contradiction the Ananthapuri fast having same body, same type of seatings and all, runs in Trivandrum with more charges.
So this attitude implies that KSRTC is considering people of Trivandrum as fools. Isn't it?
Guest Post By Sankar
Hi Sankar, In Kochi KSRTC Is running buses with Mofussil permits. ie like all the ordinary buses. So they cannot charge much like APF.
ReplyDeleteIn TVM, the KSRTC is running buses with City permits. So they have option to Charge more.
Also, in almost all the cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Mumbai etc, There will be some normal buses with charging higher fares like this.
In Bangalore, BMTC is running ordinary buses as Parisara Vahini and they are running some buses like Big-10, Pushpak, Suvarna etc by charging higher fares. But the interior of the buses are different. Not like what is he in KSRTC, APF and ordinary will be having the same interior.
There is no city - fast or ananthapuri fast permit, and what KSRTC is doing here could be illegal. I believe there is a court order specifying that for higher fares, better service needs to be provided.
ReplyDeleteRather than the higher fare, a main issue with AFP is that no concessions are allowed. With more than 50% of city services in KSRTC now AFP, this is one of the reasons why students are forced on to private buses. For places without private bus service, (Like Kazhakoottam and other suburbs), this is plain cruelty by KSRTC.
AFP should also be the most profitable part for KSRTC.