Jatri Kalyan Samity has proposed increasing bus fares by 8 paisa per kilometre on intercity routes and 10 paisa per kilometre for city services, amid rising fuel prices.

It also proposed increasing launch fares by 5 paisa per nautical mile.

In a statement sent to the media on Tuesday, the association alleged that government ministries and agencies concerned are holding a series of closed-door meetings with bus and launch owners to revise fares, excluding representatives of passengers, the affected party.

It also alleged that attempts are being made to give bus and launch owners an undue advantage from the increase in fuel prices, while the fare revision process is being kept opaque instead of ensuring transparency in the public interest.

The association said fare increases for buses and launches following a rise in fuel prices were understandable.

However, it alleged that the authorities concerned repeatedly held closed-door meetings with transport owners over fare revisions and kept the process away from the media.

It further alleged that although fare revisions were effectively decided by the government and transport owners' associations, authorities presented them to the media as decisions reached through consultations with all stakeholders.

The association said representatives of the country's largest stakeholder: passengers, were not consulted in the fare-setting process.

It also alleged that there was no transparency regarding the extent to which operators' costs had increased or how much of a fare hike would be required to offset the additional operating costs.