Bengaluru: Karnataka’s revised government bus fares will be announced on November 4 after a meeting of senior officials and the heads of the four road transport corporations, Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh has said.
Calling a fare increase inevitable, Suresh said rising diesel prices, vehicle maintenance and operating costs had made it difficult to run the corporations. He said fares had been increased only once in the past 11 years.
The minister said a committee had recommended a substantial increase, but implementing the entire recommendation would burden passengers. The government therefore plans to raise fares in phases, he said. The amount of the revision has not been announced in the statement.
Shakti reimbursements
Suresh said the government reimburses the full fare for women travelling under the Shakti scheme and that the scheme had not caused financial difficulties for the corporations. He also said Karnataka’s bus fares remained lower than those in neighbouring states.
Earlier November 5 timeline
In his earlier statement on November 1 in Chikkaballapur, Suresh had said fares would increase from November 5, with the extent of the hike to be decided at the November 4 meeting. He had put the four corporations’ combined annual losses at around ₹2,000 crore and accumulated losses at ₹9,000 crore.
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