Long weekends are directly proportionate to extended holidays and steep fares of airlines and intercity buses. But not this time. For the first time, the Maharashtra government has kept a cap on maximum fare that can be charged by private bus operators.

This would simply mean that this long weekend — there is public holiday till Tuesday — one need not pay steep fares for bus journey to Goa, Pune, Nashik, Surat or any other intercity Volvo private buses. It's a known practice that private bus operators charge arbitrarily during long weekends or festivals when people go out with families and friends.

Sources in the Transport Department said that on Friday, a government resolution was passed wherein it was decided that private bus operators can charge a maximum of 50 per cent more than state run buses (like MSRTC), on a per kilometre basis. However, no cap has been kept on lower fare.

"Private bus operators would charge two or three times the fares charged by government bus services. We wanted to ensure that this doesn't happen and so it has been decided that a maximum of 50 per cent rise can be charged," said a Transport department official. The maximum fare per kilometre ranges from Rs 69.30 to Rs 169.86.