Revised distance and fare structure for mini buses to take effect from June 15

Visibility of mini buses is expected to go up from mid-June in Coimbatore with the sanction of additional routes, as elsewhere in Tamil Nadu.
| Photo Credit: S. Siva Saravanan

Mini buses will start plying on 67 new routes sanctioned in Coimbatore district and 88 new routes in Tiruppur district from June 15, to a maximum distance of 25 km as per the newly-issued government order.

The order has extended the permissible distance for the operation of mini buses by five km, from the existing 20 km. The maximum route length was fixed at 25 km encompassing 17 km in unserved routes and eight in served routes.

As per the revised fare structure effected for mini buses announced at the start of this year, under the MV Act, 1988, ₹4 will be charged for the first four km, ₹5 for 4 to 6 km, ₹6 for 6 to 8 km, ₹7 for 8 to 10 km, ₹9 for 10 to 12 km, ₹9 for 12 to 18 km, and ₹10 for up to 20 km.

For the added five km, the fare structure will be ₹10 for 20 km up to 22 km, ₹10 for 22 to 24 km, and ₹11 for up to 26 km. An additional kilometre is allowed if the adjoining area happens to be a government hospital, higher secondary school, college, railway station etc, as ascertained by the regional transport authority concerned.

The minibuses will be largely operated in new routes where the unserved routes would not be less than 65 per cent of the total distance, a senior official of Transport Department said.

Gandhipuram, K.G. Hospital stop, and Nava India stop figure among the starting points for the mini buses in Coimbatore, the official said.