This X-Mas, hitch an expensive bus ride to Mumbai

PANJIM, DEC 21 
Those travelling to Mumbai from Goa during Christmas eve may have to hitch an expensive ride with ticket prices expected to soar this week from Rs 350 to 600 for non-AC travel and from Rs 600 to Rs 1,200 for AC travel.   
Like always, travel agents, operators etc, are cashing in on the season boom to rake in the extra money. Passengers buying a last minute ticket to step inside the coach from any destination in the State are shelling out double the original ticket price.   
Information sought from one of the agents in the Patto area, here, revealed last weekend tickets for AC travel from Goa to Mumbai were priced between Rs 900 to 1,200.
This Monday onwards the prices have stabilised anything between Rs 550 to Rs 700 (for AC) and Rs 300 to 450 (for non-AC). Again, this coming weekend, being Christmas, prices are expected to shoot up. A ride to Mumbai in AC comfort can cost a commuter between Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 or more during the last three days of the week, while non-AC will be in the range of Rs 400 to 800.      
The argument offered by the bus operators for this steep rise is as usual simple, “Even the starred, big and small hotels are doing it during season time; why not us? Why should price regulation apply solely to us? This is always an opportunity for us to make up for losses incurred during the slack season.”
Those travelling from Mumbai to Goa for Christmas are paying many times higher price than those boarding buses from this end. A travel agent based there informed those booking tickets for December 23 and 24 to travel to Goa are shelling out Rs 800-900 for a non-AC ride and Rs 1,500 for AC. A last-minute ticket will cost double these prices, he said.
While commuters are made to pay heavily for the Goa-Mumbai ride, the bus operators are jingling all the way to the bank this X-Mas, even as the authorities concerned to regulate the ticket prices are taking a nap.