Chennai MTC Bus Fares (Revised as at 20th Jan'18)

Chennai MTC Bus Fares - Revised 
(as at 20th Jan'18)

For the past two days, almost the entire city is talking about the one thing - The hike in the Bus Fare. The fares at which we are paying till 19th January 2018 was last revised on 18th November 2011. Since then, there hasn't been a revision in the bus fares. After some 7 long years, the bus fares have been revised with effect from 20th January 2018. 

Since there is no revision in the fares for the past 7 years and also the considerable increase in the fuel cost and other overheads, the fare revision looks inevitable for the Tamilnadu government. As such, the bus fares are hiked. Those who reads my blogs might remember that I have written a detailed blog post on stage wise tariff of MTC buses during June 2013. As the fares are revised, it necessitate me to write a post with the revised tariff of MTC buses. 

Chennai supposed to be the city which caters to the needs of almost everyone. When it comes to public transportation, our city is no less than any other city. Even when we have the cabs like Ola & Uber, the commuters who prefer to travel by bus are still large in numbers. There are few people like me, who always prefer to travel by bus over train. Even if I travel to same route which was covered by both Train & Bus, I prefer to go by bus. May be,  that's what makes me to write this post :) 

There has been a mixed reactions for the revision in the bus fare. I am sure the conductors are having the real tough time explaining the passengers about the increased bus fares. I found few passengers who are keen to know how the tickets are being priced. We do have people recharging their online wallets for their cab payments, the same people want to know the estimated tariff for their ride in such cabs. We are so much blessed with such a technology these days, but I would like to recap my childhood days where my parents and grandparents used to estimate the bus ticket cost well in advance, prior to stepping out of home and fill their wallet accordingly. As such, it will be good if we know the cost of bus ticket in advance. There are times, where we feel puzzled at the rate at which the ticket is being charged. Many of us don't know what is the bus fare and how it is being calculated. I have collected few details regarding bus fares, which I am posting here. These information are not the official one. So it may differ, but I cross checked the rates with the places I travelled, It was correct. 

Basically, the bus fare is calculated on the basis of the following things : 

•  Area (Destination) &
• Type of Bus (Ordinary , Express , Deluxe or Volvo)

Since the destination of the passenger can't be estimated for calculation, the area is being measured as STAGES in bus. As we travel in bus, we might see the bus halt and conductor term it as "Stage". A stage is approximately 2 Kilometers. As such, a single bus may have a maximum of 28 stages and the price of the tickets are being fixed on the number of stages we travel and the type of bus we travel. The rate chart / tariff for each type of bus is shared below: 

1) Ordinary Bus (White Board) - Base Fare:

Stage	Old Price	New Price
1	3.00	5.00
2	4.00	6.00
3	5.00	7.00
4	5.00	8.00
5	6.00	9.00
6	6.00	10.00
7	6.00	11.00
8	7.00	12.00
9	7.00	13.00
10	8.00	14.00
11	8.00	15.00
12	8.00	15.00
13	9.00	16.00
14	9.00	16.00
15	9.00	17.00
16	9.00	17.00
17	9.00	18.00
18	10.00	18.00
19	10.00	19.00
20	10.00	19.00
21	11.00	20.00
22	11.00	20.00
23	12.00	21.00
24	12.00	21.00
25	13.00	22.00
26	13.00	22.00
27	14.00	23.00
28	14.00	23.00

2) Express Bus (Green Board):

The express buses are charged as follows: 

1.5 times of the Ordinary Bus fare (Rounded off) + Re.1 towards Cess

Stage	Old Price	New Price
1	5.00	9.00
2	7.00	10.00
3	8.00	12.00
4	8.00	13.00
5	10.00	15.00
6	10.00	16.00
7	10.00	18.00
8	11.00	19.00
9	11.00	21.00
10	13.00	22.00
11	13.00	24.00
12	13.00	24.00
13	14.00	25.00
14	14.00	25.00
15	14.00	27.00
16	14.00	27.00
17	14.00	28.00
18	16.00	28.00
19	16.00	30.00
20	16.00	30.00
21	17.00	31.00
22	17.00	31.00
23	19.00	33.00
24	19.00	33.00
25	20.00	34.00
26	20.00	34.00
27	22.00	36.00
28	22.00	36.00

3) Delux Bus (Blue Board / LED Display):

The delux buses are charged as follows: 

2 times of the (Ordinary Bus fare + Re.1) + Re.1 towards Cess

Stage	Old Price	New Price
1	7.00	13.00
2	9.00	15.00
3	11.00	17.00
4	11.00	19.00
5	13.00	21.00
6	13.00	23.00
7	13.00	25.00
8	15.00	27.00
9	15.00	29.00
10	17.00	31.00
11	17.00	33.00
12	17.00	33.00
13	19.00	35.00
14	19.00	35.00
15	19.00	37.00
16	19.00	37.00
17	19.00	39.00
18	21.00	39.00
19	21.00	41.00
20	21.00	41.00
21	23.00	43.00
22	23.00	43.00
23	25.00	45.00
24	25.00	45.00
25	27.00	47.00
26	27.00	47.00
27	29.00	49.00
28	29.00	49.00

* A stage is approximately 2 Kilometers.

From the above tables / tariffs, we can get to know our ticket cost by comparing against the old rate. Please note that the old rates may differ due to rounding off. 

Example:

I usually travel from  Triplicane to Thirumangalam and the travel distance is 12.5 Kilometers. A stage is approximately 2 Kilometers, hence 12.5 KMs falls in Stage 7. Here is price they charge :

Ordinary Bus: 

Old Rate: Rs. 6,

Revised Rate: Rs.11 

(Check out the ordinary fares above for stage 7)

Express Bus: 

Old Rate: Rs. 10,

Revised Rate: Rs.18  [ (Rs.11  * 1.5) + Re.1 ]

Deluxe: 

Old Rate: Rs. 13,

Revised Rate: Rs.25  [ (Rs.11+1  * 2) + Re.1 ]

Distance Calculator:

We can calculate the distance between the two areas below - 

It shows the estimated distance in KMs, and we can find the stage based on the kilometer:

Origins:
Triplicane
Destinations:
Thirumangalam Chennai

Distancef
Time

http://sharp-coders.blogspot.com

Conclusion: 

The tariff for bus passes and daily / weekly passes are not yet notified. I will update the post once it is notified. 

The rates mentioned in this post are calculated based on the data available in the MTC official website (www.mtcbus.org). The data as taken from the MTC website is presented in this blog for easy understanding for the commuters and to bring awareness on the rate revision. There might be the possibility of difference in rate due to rounding-off. For official data and latest revisions / amendments, please visit the MTC's official website www.mtcbus.org.