Revolutions of public & private transport wheels are
costing us dearer. Recently, from 1st November, 2012, the bus fair
has increased in Kolkata and rest of West Bengal. On working days, I travel
from Lake Town to Theatre Road by bus. Previously the bus fair was Rs. 6. Do
you have any idea how much I have to pay now? Any guesses? It’s not 7 or 8.
It’s Rs. 9! Don’t believe it? You should. The new fair chart of 2*1 bus route
shows me that. Is there any base for that ridiculous price hike?
From the year 2009, the petrol and diesel prices have
increased for many times. But the bus fair has not “significantly increased”.
Even right now, the bus owners are claiming that this price hike was not
“enough”. Aren’t these controllers of bus price shameless? Everyday, we see
overcrowded buses at office time. And they are saying, they are loss making.
How television media reacted after the price hike?
Just after the price hike, both print media and television
media gave importance to the bus owners, who obviously gave reaction in their
favour. They were less bothered about common people’s problems in paying the
bus fares. No television channel asked common pedestrians about price hike in
buses.
Where the conflict is happening?
With the changing price of bus fares, petrol price, diesel
price and train fares, our salaries are not increasing. Now somebody can say,
that increasing Rs. 500 as salary would take care of the fair price well. But
the fact is that won’t. Because, the transportation cost is increased, the
common man’s daily expenditure gets multiplied. How? Suppose, some vegetables
are coming to Kolkata through other parts of West Bengal. Due to increased
train fares, the cost will be more. A milk-butter & cheeze which are coming
to Kolkata through road or rail transport will be more expensive.
A sample multiplication-effect calculation
Let us take the example of a family of 3 (father, mother and
a kid). The family members buy 100 items per month. Suddenly, top due to
increased transportation cost 80% of the items’ priced got increased by 2.
also, suppose, among those 80% of the items (i.e. 80 items), 25% of the items
are purchased daily and 50% items (i.e. 40 items) are purchased weekly and 25%
items (i.e. 20 items) are purchased once in a month. So, how much rupees the
family has to spend?
Here is the result:
Daily items: 20 x 30 = Rs. 600/-
Weekly items: 40 x 4
= Rs. 160/-
Monthly items: 1 x 20 = Rs. 20/-
Extra expenditure:
Rs. 780/-
Now, suppose, the father of the family goes to office by a
bus where the “Rs. 3” bus fare hike has happened. How much extra he to pay for
bus fares?
Extra expenditure to go to office and returning home: 3 x 30 x 2 = Rs. 180
In this way, the transportation makes an impact and the
effect gets multiplied. What if the father of the family does break journey to
reach the office? Then the cost will be more. Also, for sake of simple
calculation, we have taken Rs. 2 increase for each item. Last year, a cost of a
600 ml cold drink was Rs. 17. Right now it costs Rs. 28. Although, such price
hike is not only due to transportation cost but transportation always play
important role in steep price rise.
As per my observation, I see that the lots of changes are
happening in Kolkata. Ordinary cinema halls are vanishing (where movie tickets
had been Rs. 40 normally) and multiplexes (where ticket prices are of the range
Rs. 90 - 200) are replacing them. Ordinary grocery stores (with low priced
items) are losing preference among upper class consumers. Shopping malls with
daily commodity store (containing high priced products) are gaining popularity.
May be, by the year 2020, grocery stores and ordinary movie halls will become
extinct in Kolkata or, even if they exist, their services won’t be available
for middle class and lower class of the society.
The recent petrol & diesel price hike, bus fair hike
(with ridiculous kilometer distance arguments), price of cooking gas increase
are not common steps of government. These are NOT burdens of common people.
These are actually open conspiracies to abolish middle and lower class people
from our society.
In the future, Kolkata will remain as the city for only
Upper Class and Upper-Middle class people. Those few middle class families who
will manage to fight the situation will be like that:
1) Husband
and Wife both will be working
2) Husband
will have a second income (he would work for some extra time)
3) They
will buy less and save more
4) They
would put money in a banking scheme from where they can get return
5) The
future middle class families will always compromise in amusements
If you agree with me in the points stated in the article,
please do me a fair. Please protest against the price hike and cumulative bus
& train price increase, cooking gas price increase.
Also, I have alternative solutions for not hiking the bus
fares:
1) The
walls of our buses and trains are kept almost blank. Our private bus owners can
ask corporates to show brand ads on vehicle’s walls and ask charges from them.
That can generate alternative revenue for the private bus owners.
2) Government
can issue special cards for the private bus drivers which they can show at
petrol & diesel stations. By showing those special cards, they can get
petrol or diesel at cheaper prices. That would decrease the cost of operation
for private bus owner and they won’t have to hike the price.
These two solutions are given aiming the private bus owners
as because the private buses are run more in Kolkata than government buses. But
where the above solutions would be implemented or not, one thing is quite
clear. Government won’t change the new, “irrational” bus fare rate charts and
common people have to unnecessarily spend more money for bus fares. And not
everybody’s salary is going to be increased because of this price hike. So,
harder says awaiting for common people like me.
Addition on 9.12.2012:
The good news for bus fare hike is that the present government and private bus owners have brought down the bus fares. I thank them for their good initiatives. The bus fare is now taken as Rs. 7 instead Rs. 9 (last hiked) or Rs. 6 (old fair). So, literally Rs. 1 increase has taken place. I find the hike as reasonable now and think that the new fair chart will do justice to people's miserable economic conditions.
Addition on 9.12.2012:
The good news for bus fare hike is that the present government and private bus owners have brought down the bus fares. I thank them for their good initiatives. The bus fare is now taken as Rs. 7 instead Rs. 9 (last hiked) or Rs. 6 (old fair). So, literally Rs. 1 increase has taken place. I find the hike as reasonable now and think that the new fair chart will do justice to people's miserable economic conditions.