Passengers of Nashik's Citilinc bus service can breathe a sigh of relief as the proposed fare hike for January 2025 is unlikely to happen. For the third time, the state government's Home and Transport Department has rejected Citilinc's request to increase the fare ceiling, citing that current ticket prices have already reached the maximum allowed by the government's bus fare list.
Citilinc, operated by the Nashik Mahanagara Transport Corporation (NMTC), runs 250 CNG and 50 diesel buses, serving both urban and nearby rural areas. Despite its extensive service, the transport corporation incurs significant financial losses annually. To address this, Citilinc sought permission to increase the fare ceiling to partially offset its losses, but the government has not approved the proposal.
According to existing regulations, Citilinc is allowed to implement a minimum fare hike of 5% every January. In the past, fares were increased by 5% in January 2022 and by around 10% in January 2023. However, no fare hike was possible in January 2024 as the fares had already reached the maximum limit defined by the government.
Citilinc had approached the Additional Secretary of the Home and Transport Department with a proposal to increase the maximum fare limit, but the request was denied. As a result, there will be no fare hike in January 2025 either.
The government's transport department has set a fixed range for bus fares, which determines the minimum and maximum rates for passenger tickets. With the current fare structure reaching its ceiling, Nashik commuters will continue to benefit from stable Citilinc ticket prices for another year. Meanwhile, the NMTC faces the challenge of finding alternative solutions to manage its financial losses.