The Dakshina Kannada Regional Transport Authority on Friday ordered a hike in the fares of express, ordinary, city and rural service buses with effect from Saturday.
Bus operators demanded a 10 per cent hike in fares but Friday’s order did not specify the quantum of hike.
It had, however, mentioned the revised fares stage-wise for different kinds of services.
The minimum fare of Rs. 7 however had been retained for all categories of services.
At the same time, the RTA imposed certain conditions on bus operators: which included compulsory introduction of ticket vending machines for all buses before July 31, installation of emergency exit doors, maximum fee of Rs. 50 for bus pass applications and display of route details on the left-hand side of the bus.
For long-distance express and shuttle services, the fare increased by Rs. 5 for every chargeable stage of 6.5 km. The maximum fare had been kept at Rs. 134 for the 25th chargeable stage at 162.5 km.
For city services, fares were kept at Rs. 7 for the first two stages (up to 4 km) and they went up by Re 1 each for the next three stages (up to 10 km).
For the sixth stage (10 km to 12 km), the fare went up up by Rs. 2 (Rs. 12), while it would be Rs. 13 for the seventh stage, Rs. 14 for the eighth and ninth stages and Rs. 15 for the 10th and last stage.
The operators however appear to have increased the fares much before the RTA came out with the order.
They had been collecting increased fares since about a fortnight sparking protests from the commuting public.
Last year also, the transport operators had unilaterally increased the fares without any formal authentication by the RTA, sources in the transport department told The Hindu .
