BENGALURU: Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Monday said that the four state bus corporations have sought a fare hike of 15 per cent. Reddy told TNIE that the corporations sent a proposal in this regard to the state government almost six months ago. The government will hold a discussion on the proposal and take a decision.
Meanwhile, officials from Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC), and North-West Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) stressed the need for a fare revision at the earliest to balance losses incurred by the corporations.
Members of RTC unions had threatened to go on an indefinite strike from December 31 seeking the release of their pending salaries. "Fund crunch in the four corporations is one of the reasons for the accumulation of salary arrears," officials said.
KSRTC fares were last revised in 2020: Official
“BMTC fares were revised in 2014. The fares of KSRTC, KKRTC, and NWKRTC were revised for 2020. The government has not increased the fares since then,” said a top official from one of the bus corporations.
He said that prices of fuel, spare parts and tyres have increased and most of the revenue generated went towards employees' salaries. “Over 45% of the revenue generated is spent on diesel. When bus fares were revised last time in KSRTC, the diesel price was Rs 61 per litre. Fares have remained the same, while the price of diesel is around Rs 90 per litre now,” he said.
When bus fares were revised in 2020, KSRTC spent around Rs 3 crore per day on fuel. However, due to the increase in fuel prices, the corporations are now spending over Rs 5 crore a day. The intention of all four bus corporations is to serve people and not to burden them. However, they have been forced to go for a fare hike because of the rising operational costs, the official said.
He said the government is also positive about the fare hike and it will be revised this time to keep the corporations afloat. The RTC unions, which had threatened to go on an indefinite strike, too have demanded that the fares be revised.
