chandigarh punjab motor union pmu union of private bus operators who ply nearly 2000 buses in punjab under the ordinary buses category has urged chief minister bhagwant mann to bail them out from the financial crisis they are facing pmus empowered subcommittee raised the issue of mounting losses being faced by the bus operators and said that losses were the result of free travel for women tax burden per kilometre and nil or negligible bus fare hike over the past few years punjab government is keen to attract investments via the invest punjab summit on february 2324 but before calling for new investments there is a need to focus on domestic investors particularly punjabs indigenous private passenger bus industry said pmu secretary r s bajwathe pmu members maintained that the previous government took a decision of free travel for women which has ruined the transport industry it was promised to reduce our tax burden to offset the impact of the free travel facility for ladies but this wasnt done they addedshubhkarman brar member empowered subcommittee said the tax burden per kilometre on private operators was rs 269 to make things worse a 10 per cent social security cess has also been levied on this the result is that the tax burden per km now stands at rs 296 in another harsh measure a 90 paise per litre cess on diesel has also been imposed a few days ago