J&K Govt clears 18% transport fare hike across UT

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Government has approved an 18% increase in fares for various categories of public transport vehicles across the Union Territory, revising rates for the first time since the year 2021.
According to an official notification issued by the Transport Department the Transport Commissioner, J&K has been directed to fix revised maximum chargeable fares for commercial passenger vehicles by adding an 18 per cent hike over the rates notified under SRO-97 dated March 19, 2021.
The revised fare structure shall apply to big buses, medium and mini buses operating as stage carriages, besides different categories of taxi/maxi cabs.
These include base model contract carriage vehicles such as Sumo, Bolero, Tata Indica, Swift, Tata Winger and Tempo Traveller, medium segment tourist vehicles including Tavera, Scorpio and Xylo and premium class vehicles such as Innova and Fortuner.
Petrol-operated auto-rickshaws and Tata Magic vehicles functioning as stage carriages have also been brought under the revised fare regime.
Meanwhile, the government has separately notified fares for electric passenger vehicles. E-rickshaws will charge Rs 15 per kilometre, while e-autos will charge Rs 25 for the first kilometre and Rs 20 for each subsequent kilometre.
The notification has been issued under Section 67 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, partially modifying the earlier fare notification issued in 2021