BENGALURU: Planning a vacation or going to your native this festival season? Be ready to cough up double the regular price if you are taking a private bus. Private bus operators, who have been claiming that the state government’s ‘Shakti’ scheme, which offers free travel to women in state-run buses, has hit their revenue, are planning to make up for the losses this festival season. Most operators are likely to double the bus fare this weekend.
According to Sadananda Chatra from the Karnataka State Private Bus Operators’ Association, there are around 5,000 private buses across the state with a ‘state carrier’ tag and these buses can increase the fares during festivals only up to 30 per cent, and for a few days.
“Both the rates as well as the time of operation are fixed by the RTO and we have to go by the guidelines. However, we have no control over ‘contract carriers’ which operate more or less on the lines of private cabs and they charge more compared to private bus operators with state carrier tag,” said Chatra.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said, “To avoid inconvenience for passengers during Dasara, the KSRTC has made elaborate arrangements to operate more than 2,000 extra buses to various places from Bengaluru between October 20 and 26.
“To send a warning to bus operators planning to charge exorbitant fares, the department had already warned the operators during the Ganesha festival earlier, and the same applies during Dasara as well,” the minister said, adding that officials had levied penalty on operators who charged exorbitant fares.