About 4000 workers and farmers in the Nadi district signed a petition protesting bus fare increases and this was reported in The Fiji Times on August 30, 1972 The article stated the petition was to be presented to the Minister for Communication, Ratu Penaia Ganilau. The organiser of the petition, Peranna Shankar, stood for elections that year but was unsuccessful.
Mr Shankar said fares for some routes had gone up by 100 or 150 per cent. Some workers who travelled by bus to work had given up their jobs because they could not pay the new fares.
“I know of eight people who earn between $10 and $12 a week and almost half of their earnings went into bus fares,” Mr Shankar said.
He said the Tunalia Nadi bus fare used to be 10 cents but had gone up to 20 cents.
The old five cents fare from Malolo to the Queens Rd junction had gone up to 10 cents.
Farmers hit Mr Shankar said he could give similar examples of unreasonable increases.
“Farmers who brought their produce to markets by buses were badly affected,” he said.
These farmers had to pay for freight and their fares. Mr Shankar criticised the then Members of the House of
Representatives who had sought votes from the poor “by making all kinds of promises”.
“Not one of them has spoken against the increases, either in Parliament or outside,” he said.
Mr Shankar said he wrote to the Transport Control Board before the new fares came into force, but the board did nothing.
“If the government does not bring the fares down, we are going to boycott buses. “We are going to walk,” he added.
