BENGALURU: A decision on increasing bus fares of Karnataka’s state-run transport corporations is likely soon, with the high-level committee headed by retired officer Atul Tiwari set to submit its report to the government in a day or two, Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh said on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting in Bengaluru on traffic congestion, road safety and enforcement of traffic rules, Suresh said a fare hike had become necessary as the transport corporations were facing severe financial difficulties.
He said diesel prices had increased by Rs 15 to Rs 16 per litre following four hikes by the BJP-led central government in the past year. This, he said, had resulted in an annual loss of Rs 8,000 crore to the state transport corporations.
The Atul Tiwari committee has examined the financial position of all the transport corporations. Its report will be placed before the Cabinet for discussion, following which the fare revision will be taken up after obtaining Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s approval, Suresh said.
Meanwhile, the government will introduce smart cards for women beneficiaries of the Shakti scheme, which provides free travel on state-run buses. The move is aimed at ensuring that the benefit is restricted to women from Karnataka, following reports of women from other states availing themselves of free travel. The tender process for issuing smart cards to one crore women in the first phase has been completed. The cards will be ready and distributed within two months, Suresh said.