BENGALURU: To offset its bleeding losses, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation has recently proposed an 18.5 per cent increase in ticket fare. The state government is yet to take a final call on it.A senior BMTC official told The New Indian Express the proposal was submitted to the government a fortnight ago. “The hike has been proposed due to the consistent increase in diesel prices and the massive expenses incurred by BMTC due to the wage revision for employees effected last year,” he said. The corporation suffers losses ranging between Rs 20 crore and Rs 25 crore a month, the official added.
BMTC expects to mop up an additional revenue of nearly Rs 220 crore if the government okays the fare hike proposal. The official added, “Even then it would be difficult to help us break-even in operations.”
BMTC had last hiked its fares by 15 per cent in April 2014. Its revenues increased but ridership steadily declined in the subsequent years.
Principal Secretary, transport department, B Basavaraju, said, “We received the proposal from BMTC recently. It has been sent to the finance department. The government will take a decision on it soon.”
The 6,149 BMTC buses in the city clock 12 lakh km daily. It suffers a loss of Rs 74 lakh daily on an average. An average of 45 lakh riders presently use BMTC daily, a major dip compared to the nearly 52 lakh riders it carried in 2012. Many commuters have switched to Metro or cabs.