Cuttack: With diesel price hike in the past one month in the country, the possibility of increasing the bus fares in Odisha could not be ignored in the upcoming days.

The bus fares are likely to be doubled under the Automatic Mechanism System launched by the state government putting additional pressure on the passengers.

The diesel price rose by more than Rs 6 during past one month to Rs 68.14 per litre. The price is likely to increase more in next months.

In view of continuous rise of diesel price in the country, the bus fares are expected to be hiked across the state.

The state government revises the bus fare under the Automatic fare adjustment mechanism in every hike of diesel price by Rs 2 per litre. As the price has been hiked by over Rs 6 per litre, the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack bus fare is likely to be Rs 40 for 22-km distance.

The similar fare hike is also expected in case of other private buses plying across Odisha connecting different districts.