Bengaluru: Opposition leader R Ashok on Wednesday attacked the Congress government over the bus fare increase, saying the state owes the transport corporations ₹5,650.95 crore and that releasing the money would have removed the need for a fare hike. He said protests will be held across the state on November 5.
His main charges
- The government has “left transport corporations with an outstanding amount of ₹5,650.95 crore” and, instead of releasing it, burdened people with higher fares.
- He said the Congress government has raised fares in a way “more disgraceful than the Tughlaq regime”, by as much as 40 per cent, and that no earlier government had raised fares to this extent.
- He said the Finance Department had said it cannot release the money.
- He said a guarantee of ₹2,000 crore has been given to raise loans, and that provident fund arrears stand at ₹2,901.53 crore and fuel arrears at ₹827.37 crore.
Fares he cited
Ashok said that from Majestic to Shivajinagar the BMTC fare has gone from ₹12 to ₹18, and to Yeshwanthpur from ₹18 to ₹25. He said Bengaluru–Kolar has increased by ₹19, Bengaluru–Tumakuru has gone from ₹81 to ₹100 and Bengaluru–Mandya from ₹110 to ₹136. He added that Bengaluru–Mysuru has increased by ₹37, Bengaluru–Hassan by ₹51 and Bengaluru–Chikkamagaluru by ₹68. He said people who were promised free travel under Shakti have now been burdened with these fares.
On the minister’s explanation
Ashok said Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh has cited debt as the reason for the increase. He said that when he was Transport Minister, the corporations were in profit for five years, bought 1,110 acres of land with their own funds and set up a land bank he said is now worth ₹10,000 crore. He also said he had set up the TTMC, and that rent alone brought in ₹40 crore to ₹50 crore.
The government’s side: Byrathi Suresh said on Wednesday that the four corporations face losses of about ₹10,200 crore after seven diesel price rises since May, and that fares were raised to limit them. He said the cost of free travel under Shakti is released to the corporations from time to time.
Ashok put the transport corporations’ total liabilities at ₹7,130.80 crore as of May 2026, including salaries, provident fund and gratuity. He said the BJP will hold protests at all district headquarters and in Bengaluru on November 5.
Note on figures: the release gives the arrears as ₹5,650.95 crore, but its corporation-wise figures (KSRTC ₹2,943 crore, NWKRTC ₹1,306 crore, BMTC ₹1,019 crore, KKRTC ₹999 crore) add up to ₹6,267 crore, and a later passage speaks of ₹12,000 crore in arrears. The figures are as stated by Ashok; the government has not responded in the release.
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