more-in The Statewide indefinite strike by private bus operators, which began on Friday, put commuters in the district’s rural areas to hardship. In the capital city, the presence of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC)’s city buses tempered the effect of the strike. However, even within the city, the people living in the outer areas and interiors were affected by the strike. A total of 104 private buses ply within the city, clocking multiple schedules during the day. The KSRTC’s city services, even with its extra schedules, were not fully able to make up for the absence of the private buses. The situation was worse in Attingal and Nedumangadu and in the rural areas. A total of 260 private buses run in these areas. Office-goers and students had to depend on parallel services to reach their destinations. According to D. Santosh Kumar, president of the Thiruvananthapuram District Private Bus Operators’ Association, the private bus operators have been suffering steep fall in revenues over the past decade, making the business unviable without an increase in fares. “Diesel prices are at a historic high and are increasing everyday. The number of tickets sold each day has fallen from 2,000 till a decade back to 800 now. The insurance prices and maintenance costs have all shot up. But the ticket prices have remained low, with which it is hard to sustain the business. The fall in number of private buses in the district as well as across the State over this period points to this,” he said.

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