Commuters opt for 1,000 rupees pass to escape high fares

The TAYP passes will be issued till the 22nd of every month. As per the latest figures, the MTC has issued 1,21,000 TAYP passes this month alone. Before the announcement of revised fares, 50000 to 55,000 TAYP passes, which is valid only in ordinary services alone, will be issued every month. 

Nearly 64,000 passes were sold in February following the bus fare revision marking a new trend. MTC officials said that the increase in subscriptions have balanced the shortfall in revenue, which plummeted after commuters shifted to trains, after the fares were revised.

It may be recalled that the MTC withdrew the daily pass and retained the thousand-rupee pass alone. DS Sivasamy, president of Confederation of Organisation for Integrated Urban Development, said, “The transport department with an eye on profit alone decided to scrap off all passes, except the Rs-1000 TAYP. The labour class was hugely dependent on the daily passes. Further, they constitute a majority of the commuter population. The daily passes were scrapped as they will not generate much revenue to the corporations. The transport department move looks like cornering bid and forcing the commuters to shell out money on a regular basis.

A regular commuter, V Santosh, said, “The regular commuters prefer the TAYP for a simple reason that is to avoid the hassle of dealing with the conductors. The passengers have no other choice but to depend on the MTC services for the last mile connectivity. So, they buy the TAYP.”

Speaking to DT NEXT, a senior MTC official said, “The reversal in trend emerged as soon as the government hiked the fares of MTC buses.”