Chief Minister D K Shivakumar defended the fare hike, citing financial struggles of state transport corporations.
Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Wednesday that the state government is prepared to roll back bus fare hikes if the Centre reduces petrol and diesel prices. According to reports from Deccan Herald and Moneycontrol, Shivakumar spoke at Vidhana Soudha regarding the financial difficulties faced by state-run transport corporations.
The Chief Minister stated that the transport corporations are running at a loss and had previously lacked sufficient funds to purchase diesel for periods ranging from 10 days to three weeks. He noted that the government had to provide financial assistance to them. He also cited the Shakti scheme, which provides free bus travel to women on non-AC buses, as an additional financial burden.
The state government announced an average fare hike of 35 per cent for the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and 23 per cent for the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and two other state-run corporations. In Bengaluru, the minimum ticket price is set to rise from Rs 6 to Rs 10, while the maximum KSRTC fare will increase by Rs 9.
The BJP has demanded an immediate rollback of the increase and the publication of the transport corporations' full loss accounts. State BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra described the hike as an additional burden on poorer residents.
The revised fares were scheduled to take effect from Wednesday night, according to Prajavani via Urban Acres.
