Govt formally approves 19% fare hike for commercial vehicles

JAMMU — Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha-led administration has approved a fare hike of 19% for all categories of commercial passenger vehicles in an Administrative Council meeting convened on Thursday.

The decision has been taken on the basis of cost analysis, based on fuel rates, toll tax, operational and maintenance cost, and losses incurred due to COVID-19 lockdown, undertaken by the transport commissioner for the consideration of the Fare Revision Committee.

Earlier, the Fare Revision Committee recommended a 19% fare hike to make the plying of commercial passenger vehicles in J&K financially viable, taking into account the prevalent prices in the neighbouring states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana.

Pertinently, the previous fare revision in Jammu and Kashmir took place two and a half years ago and the fare remained unchanged ever since.