Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Feb 14: Six days after Dream Team Sahara (DTS) announced slashing of fares of JNNURM city buses, the revised fares that were to come into force February 10 are yet to be implemented by the private player under the state-owned Bhubaneswar Puri Transport Services Limited (BPTSL).
Conductors are not only refusing to give additional travel value on radio-frequency based smart cards but are also issuing general tickets on old rates, said a few regular commuters.
The consistent fall in diesel prices had forced DTS to reduce bus fares. However, was limited to the city. BPTSL has a fleet of 145 city buses, including 12 AC Redline buses, plying on 21 routes in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Khurda, Jatni and surrounding towns.
A school teacher, Priyanka Mallik, who travels daily on DTS buses said she was charged Rs 20 for a journey from AG Square to Janla in Tamando despite the 10 per cent fare cut.
Pratap Pradhan, a 45-year-old employee of a vernacular paper, said he did not get 10 per cent extra travel value on his smart card while travelling from Phulnakhara to Rasulgarh.
“I had only Rs 4 left in my smart card and I recharged it by paying Rs 100 but instead of Rs 110, I got only Rs 100. When I told the conductor about the fare cut, he simply refused to budge. He also told me that he did not get any fare cut update,” Pradhan said.
DTS chief executive Sudhanshu Jena could not be reached for comments.
BPTSL chairman-cum-mayor AN Jena said he was in Rourkela and could not talk over phone because of a technical snag.
