The Salem District Private Bus Owners’ Association urged the State government to increase the ticket fare of private buses.
Recently, the private buses owners in the district increased the ticket prices without prior announcements, which drew severe criticism from the public.
On Monday (July 13, 2026) the association secretary, Raveendran, stated that, in 2018, the price of one litre of diesel was ₹64, and in 2026 it costs over ₹100. The prices of tyres, spare parts, insurance premiums, and toll charges have also increased, causing difficulty for bus owners to run their businesses. He noted that earlier, there were over 300 private bus owners, now more than 60 have switched to other businesses.
“Due to the free government bus travel scheme provided to women, private buses are incurring losses. Despite the increase in fuel prices, the government buses receive a subsidy from the government, while private bus owners are forced to bear all expenses,” he added.
Stating that bus fare is lower in Tamil Nadu compared with other States, Mr. Raveendran alleged that private bus owners did not hike the ticket fare. Instead, the prices were rounded off, in order to avoid paying change to the passengers – an ₹18 ticket was revised to ₹20 and ₹28 ticket was revised to ₹30.
At present, private buses collect 58 paise per kilometre. “We demand the government to hike the price between ₹1.10 and ₹1.20 per kilometre. We are also ready to implement free bus travel for women, if the government provides subsidy to the private buses too,” Mr. Raveendran said.
“Earlier, 34% of women travelled in government buses, which has now increased to 64%. While five different fares are collected in government buses, a single fare system is applicable on private buses,” he said, adding that their demands have been conveyed to the government via the Transport Minister.
Published – July 13, 2026 06:48 pm IST
