Ouch! Hike hits where it hurts most

The reaction that the petrol price hike has evoked was expected. But probably the worst-affected are the non-earning youngsters who use bikes and cars frequently for commuting. Metrolife takes a step into their lives and asks them how this hike has modified their daily routine?

“The petrol expenses were already sky high and now this price hike is too much. That’s not as simple as it sounds. The costs will prove to be higher when we calculate per day travel expenses,” says Aadil Khan, a II-year DU student.

Their social life is also hampered by this hike as the expenses will passively strike every social aspect. Cutting down on roaming around is an expected fall out. “I have a car but these fuel hikes keep happening so frequently that asking for an increment from our parents for this is no more an excuse,” explained Gurpreet Oberoi, a Hotel Management student.

Another such student, Saikat Bose, who is very active socially, says, “The more friends you have, the more you need to travel. But now I have to look for friends near my place so that I don’t need to travel much every time I feel like meeting them. With this price increase, I have to think twice before taking my girlfriend out every time. I guess the long drive will now be possible only in public transport!”

For those with offices and coaching classes at considerable distances from homes, the problem has become worse. The public transport never gains the reliability factor in the hearts of youth, whereas problems of connectivity and better infrastructure are still major issues that government needs to tackle.

“My internship is far away from my place, so I used to travel with my own vehicle. As my office is very strict about timings, I never used to rely on public transport. But now I guess I don’t have any other option as spending so much on travel using my vehicle is not an intelligent decision anymore” explains Sandip Paul.

Instead of cribbing about the hike, there are some who have already started planning for future. While some plan to use car pools so that they can also pool in fuel money, others are planning to buy fuel-efficient vehicles. “I am planning to get CNG kit installed in my vehicle. Not only will it be easy on the pocket but I continue to have my space instead of using public transport or pooling money.  On the brighter side, there will be less fear of fuel prices on my mind,” Shreya Jain, a final year college student tells Metrolife.

Irrespective of which option one chooses finally, keeping the current scenario in mind, the future only indicates that we need to act wisely since the government or the fuel companies are unlikely to - anytime in the near future.