India, Oct. 30 -- The Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) has received only two complaints related to excessive fares from private bus passengers during the Diwali season. Officials said that while many travellers allegedly paid inflated fares, very few lodged complaints.

The transport department had appealed to passengers to lodge complaints if private operators charged more than 1.5 times the maximum fare prescribed by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). Between October 13 and 27, RTO received 53 complaints through WhatsApp and email. However, only two were valid fare-related complaints, while the remaining were about other traffic or service violations.

"Of the 53 complaints received, only two included necessar...