Two days after a hike in power tariff, another government corporation is set to revise fares. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will announce new fares on Thursday.
With the BMTC preferring the term rationalisation, fares for some stages are expected to go up while there might be a reduction in other places.
In the past two months, commuter groups had been increasingly demanding halving of fares. This was in addition to the demand for doubling the fleet size of the corporation, which is facing stiff competition from private cab aggregators.
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The rationalisation is expected to address issues of increase in fuel cost as well as provide discounts in certain stages, which BMTC hopes will attract more customers.
BMTC fixes fares based on distance travelled where each stage is equal to two kilometres. According to sources, rates for the premium bus services are likely to decrease in the first and second stages while a marginal hike is likely in higher stages. This is based on the premise that most users board buses for shorter distances, sources said.
The last fare hike was in 2014. The corporation had announced a 15% hike, followed by a reduction of ₹1 in January 2015 when fuel prices dropped. However, 2016 was a bad year for the corporation, as it had suffered losses due to demonetisation, the agitation over the Mahadayi issue as well as strikes by employees. Officials expect to recoup some of these losses with the fare reshuffle.
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While passengers would welcome a reduction in fares, which are the most expensive in the country, a hike is likely to have an impact on the number of commuters boarding buses.
“Volvo buses are very expensive. It would be good if fares are brought at par with cab rates. Currently, I would prefer to hire a cab if three of us are travelling, as the level of comfort is much better and the cost is less,” says Sandhya R., a resident of Basavangudi.
Cost of commute
Fare hike in April 2014: 14-18%
Reduction of ₹1 in January 2015