Sharmila did not worry too much when she got offered a job in Bengaluru a few months ago, even if it meant she and her husband would have to live apart for most of the week. “The idea was to work for five days a week and spend quality time with each other during weekends either in Chennai or Bengaluru,” the 28-year-old says. However, what the couple did not factor in was the price of bus tickets to travel to and fro every weekend.
During weekdays, the fare for one berth in a decent sleeper bus (above 3.5 star rating) from Bengaluru to Chennai is between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000. “But during weekends, this rate increases up to Rs 1,800 for one berth,” she explains.
Private bus operators overcharging travellers during weekends and festival season is an old story in Tamil Nadu. Most people who commute between their native towns and cities in the state will relate to Sharmila’s experience. While the ticket fares of omnibuses that connect Chennai with other major cities like Coimbatore and Madurai might be reasonable during weekdays, it is doubled, or even tripled, during weekends, when the demand is higher.
The state government has repeatedly assured action against those who overcharge, but this is an oft-heard statement for frustrated commuters. But is there a loophole in the current law that’s preventing the government from putting its foot down and actually regulating the ticket prices of intercity and interstate omnibuses originating from Tamil Nadu?
A reality check
Though there are several private bus operators across the state, the Tamil Nadu Omni Bus Owners Association (TOBOA) website shows there are only four ‘approved operators’. TNM compared the ticket prices levied by one of the four approved bus operators with the ‘Standard Ticket Fare’ uploaded by the association on its website.
The prices are categorised as non-AC seater, non-AC sleeper, AC seater, AC sleeper, Premium seater and Premium sleeper.
As per the TOBOA website, the standard fares for Non-AC seater and sleeper from Chennai to Madurai for approved operators are Rs 1,150 and Rs 1,400 per ticket respectively, under the ‘Festival Fare’ category.
However, one of the approved operators has pegged the ticket fare for October 25, which is two days ahead of Diwali, at Rs 1,900 for both non-AC seater and non-AC sleeper. Similarly, while the “standard” fare for AC Sleeper from Chennai to Madurai on the same date is Rs 1,600 per head, the said operator is charging Rs 2,150 per ticket. Even the ticket price for Premium AC sleeper is Rs 200 higher than the fare fixed by the association.
The legal lacunae in MV Act
Overpricing of omnibus tickets has become the norm over the last few years. But, is the government taking steps to curb this practice by the operators, beyond just issuing ‘warnings of severe action’ for overcharging during festival season?
V Ramarao of Traffic and Transportation Forum, a non-profit organisation in Chennai, notes a loophole in the Motor Vehicles Act, which prevents the government from interfering with fixing the ticket prices for omnibuses.
“The Act classifies omnibuses as ‘contract carriages’, which allows the operators to fix prices as per their wishes. But these buses are actually not ‘contract carriages’. These are routine, scheduled buses that run on timetables,” he says.
The Motor Vehicles Act defines ‘contract carriages’ as vehicles that carry a passenger or group of passengers from one place to another, essentially under a contract between the permit holder of the vehicle (the bus operator) and the passenger. The ‘contract carriage’ includes vehicles like taxis, maxi cabs (taxis that carry up to 12 passengers) and tourist vehicles, in addition to omnibuses, even though each passenger is charged separately. These vehicles are allowed to charge prices based on the time taken to finish the trip or based on the origin and destination of the trip.
Ramarao equates the services of omnibuses with the state-run buses services like the SETC (State Express Transport Corporation in Tamil Nadu) or KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation). “For instance, the private bus operators provide non-AC seater services. Similarly, SETC also runs ultra-deluxe buses between Chennai and Madurai,” he explains.
“So, the omnibuses must be told to charge whatever the state transport corporations charge for the same type of bus. If the omnibuses are providing extra facilities, then a special committee must be formed to assess that and fix rates accordingly,” adds Ramrao.
He also points out that since the state government grants permits to the omnibus operators, they must be covered under the ambit of the price regulations of the government.
“The Motor Vehicles Act must be amended to that extent and these omnibuses must not be classified as contract carriages. That is the only way to address this issue of fleecing customers,” he explains.
However, justifying the high ticket fares, A Afsal, the president of Tamil Nadu Omni Bus Owners Association (TOBOA) told TNM that bus operators had increased the fares once (January 2018) in the last two-three years, that too, when the fuel price shot up substantially.
“This surge pricing (based on increased demand) is not only for omnibuses, but also for shopping websites, cab aggregators and even for state buses,” he says.
Afsal also claims that the omnibus ticket prices are fixed and given to the government. “The authorities monitor us and are fining us also when we violate the prices,” Afsal told TNM, adding that the association itself is trying to curb this practice and is keeping a strict watch over ticket prices.
‘Amending Act poses other challenges’
A highly placed source in the State Transport Authority says that the state government cannot regulate the fares fixed by ‘contract carriages’ since it would impact the fares of other vehicles like taxis and maxi cabs.
“From the government’s side, we have put around 70 special teams that will conduct surprise checks all over the state. If they receive complaints from passengers about overcharging, they will take action. But we cannot regulate the rates charged by contract carriages. The law does not allow us to do that,” the source tells TNM.
When asked if the state government will amend the Act to regulate omnibus fares, the official says that it might not be possible, or is not the solution to this problem, due to two reasons.
“If we pass an amendment, omnibuses will become state carriages and will end up becoming competitors to the existing state carriages like the TNSTC (Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation) and SETC. The government will not want that to happen. Additionally, the Motor Vehicles Act has some provisions which can be amended only by the central government and not by the state government,” the official explains.
The decision to regulate the fares by any other means, the official adds, is a policy decision that the state government has to take a call on.