Steep hike in KSRTC, BMTC fares

Steep hike in KSRTC, BMTC fares
DH News Service, Bangalore:
After the hefty fuel price hike, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) have delivered a twin shock for passengers...


BMTC has hiked fares by nine per cent, while KSRTC has increased its fare for ordinary services by 10 per cent and other services by 12 per cent. The revised fares comes into effect from Thursday midnight.

The two transport corporations justified their hikes citing increased operational costs. BMTC said it’s annual expenditure for 2008-09 has gone up by Rs 151.23 crore due to increase in the cost of HSD, release of four installments of DA, impending wage revision for employees and steep increase in the cost of steel, tyres, tubes, lubricants, assemblies and other spare parts.

The “very modest hike”, BMTC officials said, would help them recoup at least a part of the additional expenditure. BMTC had last hiked bus fares in June 2006. The revised fares, they said, were still less than those permitted under the provisions of a Government notification dated July 7, 2005.

The revenue from the revised fares would help BMTC introduce 450 peak-hour services, augment existing services to 5655 schedule level, build more bus depots, stations and ten Traffic & Transit Management Centres and introduce Bus Rapid Transit System on the Outer Ring Road.

BMTC and KSRTC had been demanding a fare hike ever since diesel prices increased. But the State government had deferred a decision in this regard.

KSRTC justification

In a press release, KSRTC maintained that the hike was to offset its financial burden and to undertake various expansion plans.

According to KSRTC, its fares were last revised on June 11, 2006, and there was no further increase despite increase in HSD DA rates and diesel prices.

KSRTC said it plans to build eight new depots and 12 new bus stands at an estimated cost of Rs 45 crore, in the current financial year. Besides, the Corporation incurs an additional expenditure of Rs 30 crore per annum due to wage revision for its employees, the release said