Ahead of Diwali, Karnataka hikes RTC bus fares by up from Rs 9 to Rs 68
Bengaluru: Karnataka Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh on Wednesday announced an increase in ticket fares of all four state-run road transport corporations – the BMTC, the KSRTC, the NWKRTC, and the KKRTC, with the revised rates coming into effect from midnight.
The fare revision will apply to ordinary, express, luxury and air-conditioned buses, with the maximum increase varying according to the distance travelled and category of service. The announcement comes ahead of the Diwali festival, when passenger movement is expected to increase across the state.
On the rationale for the revision, Suresh said the increase had been kept considerably lower than the rates recommended by the committee. He said both Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and he had disagreed with the higher proposed rates and had taken four days to arrive at a decision to minimise the burden on passengers.
In Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses, the minimum fare has been increased from Rs 6 to Rs 10, while the maximum fare has gone up from Rs 35 to Rs 45. For journeys of up to two kilometres, the increase will be Rs 4, while passengers travelling between two and four kilometres will have to pay an additional Rs 6. For longer distances, the maximum increase will be Rs 12.
In Vayu Vajra airport services, the fare increase will range from Rs 5 to Rs 15, depending on the distance. For journeys of up to six kilometres, the increase will be Rs 5, while journeys between six and 18 kilometres will cost Rs 10 more. The maximum increase will be Rs 15.
The minimum fare increase in air-conditioned buses has been fixed at Rs 10 to Rs 15. The maximum fare for a 60-km journey has been increased from Rs 75 to Rs 90.
For luxury buses operating between Majestic and Kempegowda International Airport, the fare has been increased from Rs 405 to Rs 425.
Regarding the increase in airport bus fares, Suresh said that people travelling to the airport were generally affluent and questioned why the media was expressing concern over the fare revision.
For general transport services, which account for the maximum number of passengers, the increase has been limited to Rs 9 to Rs 68 for longer journeys. In Vega Doota services, the maximum increase will be Rs 18 for 10 stages. The KSRTC network has around 150 fare stages.
Defending the decision, the Minister said the four transport corporations were facing mounting financial liabilities and operational expenditure. The combined outstanding liabilities of the corporations stand at Rs 7,719 crore, including loans of Rs 2,192 crore. The government’s total liabilities towards the four transport corporations amount to Rs 9,912 crore, he said.
He added that the state government was required to provide around Rs 5,000 crore annually towards implementing the Shakti scheme, which provides free bus travel to women in state-run transport buses.
The Minister said the corporations were spending around Rs 16,000 crore annually but generating only Rs 14,000 crore in revenue, resulting in an annual deficit of approximately Rs 2,000 crore. This recurring loss was forcing the corporations to borrow money to meet their expenditure.
The four corporations together employ around 1,03,600 staff members. The government had also increased employee salaries, while the cost of tyres, fuel and maintenance had risen substantially, adding to the financial burden.
Suresh said ticket fares had been revised only once in the past decade, while fuel prices and other operational costs had increased several times. He maintained that the fare revision was necessary to ensure the financial sustainability of the transport corporations.
Referring to the Road Transport Corporations Act, 1956, he said the provisions mandated periodic fare revisions whenever fuel prices increased to maintain a balance between revenue and expenditure.
“Bus fares have been increased in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Telangana, and we have also revised our fares. Around 80 per cent of the revenue generated by the transport corporations goes towards meeting diesel costs and paying salaries. Even after the fare hike, none of the RTCs will become profitable. We have only managed to reduce their losses by about 25 per cent,” he said.
Appealing to passengers to cooperate with the government, Suresh said state-run transport corporations were the lifeline of Karnataka and that their financial stability was essential for maintaining and developing public transport services across the state.
