As a New Year gift to the people of the State, the Punjab Government on Wednesday announced to slash the bus fare by four paise per km. The reduced fare would come into force from January 1. "The first time in the history of the State, bus fares have been reduced," said State Transport Minister Ajit Singh Kohar. Kohar said that from January onwards, the rate of fare has been decreased by four paise per kilometre for ordinary buses. "It was earlier 91 paise/km which would be 87 paise/km from January 1, 2015," he said.In case of ordinary HVAC buses, it has been cut down to 104.40 paise/km from 109.20 paisa/km. Besides, the integral coaches would now charge 156.60 paise per km instead of 163.80 paise/km, whereas super integral coaches' rate would be 174 paise/km against the earlier 182 paise/km.