3 to 5 per cent cut in bus fares from Jan. 1

Political compulsions force govt. to announce ‘token cut’

Minister for Transport Ramalinga Reddy during the Legislative Council session in Bangalore on February 17, 2014. Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

A 3 to 5 per cent “token” reduction in the fares of State road transport corporation buses will be effected from January 1, according to Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy.

The announcement is seen as the result of “severe political compulsions” faced by the government and the decision has been taken “despite advice against it” by the corporations themselves, according to sources.

Sources said Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) submitted a proposal to the Transport Department on Wednesday for a fare cut of 3 to 5 per cent, depending on the stage. This is not a major rollback as the hike in fares in May was 15 per cent for BMTC buses and 8 per cent for KSRTC buses.

“With mounting losses in the previous years, it is impossible to completely roll back this hike. However, we have attempted to reduce the fares while also keeping in mind the corporations’ finances,” said Mr. Reddy. The proposal will be reviewed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, before being implemented on January 1.

While diesel price was hovering around Rs. 60 a litre in May, it has now come down to Rs. 55 a litre and this had led to demands for a roll back of fare hike.

Mr. Reddy said, “The transport corporations had for a long time absorbed the increase in the diesel price, even when it was around Rs. 65 a litre. The RTCs are not in profit now, and the expenditure will increase when salary increments and increased dearness allowance will be in effect from January 1.”

Keeping it to a minimum

Sources in the KSRTC said the corporation had expressed opposition to the fare reduction during discussions. However, with the “political decision” having taken, officials said they had processed the numbers to ensure the reduction was kept to a minimum.

Similarly, BMTC officials said their calculations kept in mind that the May fare hike had resulted in a Rs. 3-crore profit (till October), the first time the corporation had made profits after sinking to nearly Rs. 300 crore accumulated losses since 2012–13.

While refusing to divulge specific details of the proposals sent to the Ministry, officials said the list with modified prices will be released only after approval.