Surajya Abhiyan continues push for regulation of private bus fares ahead of Diwali

Surajya Abhiyan welcomes cancellation of the MSRTC fare hike, but demands action against private bus overcharging

Mumbai – Surajya Abhiyan has welcomed Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik’s decision to reject the proposed 15% Diwali fare hike for Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses. However, the Abhiyan has warned that this relief will remain incomplete unless the State Government takes immediate action against private bus operators and online booking portals charging fares 200% to 500% higher than usual. 

🚨#NewsAlert | #Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (@msrtcofficial) proposed 15 per cent bus fare hike ahead of Diwali is rejected by @PratapSarnaik ⛔️ BUT ! What about the private bus fare spikes – surge and the awaited Law to restrict the online ticket booking portals ? 📊 According to the Government of India’s official National Household Travel Survey (MoSPI) : 55.8% by bus, 17.7% by rail. Social and religious travel is 70.2%. Tourism is only 7.4%. @MORTHIndia @MMVD_RTO #PassengerRights #MoRTH #MSRTC #Diwali2026

— Surajya Abhiyan (@SurajyaAbhiyan) October 15, 2026

Commenting on the decision, Shri. Abhishek Murukate, Maharashtra State Coordinator of Surajya Abhiyan, said, “According to the Government of India’s National Household Travel Survey (MoSPI), 55.8% of citizens rely on bus transport, with 70.2% of travel for social and religious purposes. Charging ordinary citizens five times the regular fare when they travel home for festivals amounts to outright extortion. 

When the State Government itself has decided against increasing MSRTC fares to protect ordinary citizens, why is no action being taken against private bus operators and online portals violating the Government Resolution dated 27 April 2018, which prescribes a fare ceiling of 1.5 times the MSRTC fare? Compliance with prescribed fare limits is a mandatory permit condition under Section 84(c) of the Motor Vehicles Act.” 

Shri. Murukate further highlighted that online ticketing aggregators like RedBus and MakeMyTrip exploit passengers through automated dynamic pricing algorithms. He demanded that the Transport Commissioner make aggregator licences mandatory for online booking platforms under Section 93 and enforce digital fare caps on their booking systems.

He also called on Regional Transport Office (RTO) flying squads to conduct inspections and suspend the permits of vehicles violating the rules under Section 86, rather than merely imposing fines. He also demanded to make it easier for passengers to lodge complaints, embedding official State RTO Grievance QR Codes on all physical tickets, online PDF receipts, mobile app interfaces, and bus seatbacks must be made a mandatory prerequisite for permit approvals. 

Key demands of Surajya Abhiyan

1. Digital fare caps: Mandate online booking platforms to obtain State Aggregator Licences and enforce a digital fare ceiling of 1.5 times the MSRTC fare on their booking systems.
2. Permit suspensions and spot refunds (Section 86): Deploy RTO flying squads to carry out live inspections at major boarding hubs, enforce spot refunds of excess fares charged to passengers, and suspend permits of vehicles that violate the rules.
3. Mandatory Grievance QR codes: Make printing an official RTO Grievance QR Code on physical tickets, downloaded ticket PDFs and bus seatbacks a mandatory condition for granting and renewing permits.