Once again, CM puts the brakes on bus fare hike

He tells officials to think of other ways to tackle road transport corporation losses

The State government is unlikely to increase bus fares for the time being, with Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday directing Transport Department officials to explore alternative measures to overcome losses instead of going for a hike.

At a review meeting of the Transport Department, he is learnt to have directed officials to drop the fare hike proposal for now. If the bus fare had to be increased it should be done in consultation with the public, he told the officials.

At the meeting, officials from the road transport corporations explained their stand. They apprised the Chief Minister on the need to increase fares in the wake of the spiralling fuel prices. However, the Chief Minister instructed officials to come out with modalities of overcoming the financial crisis without burdening the commuters.

Transport Minister D.C. Thammanna has been repeatedly saying that a bus fare hike was on the cards as the road transport corporations were in a bad shape financially.

However, the final call was left to the Chief Minister.

Second time around

This is the second time the Chief Minister has put the brakes on fare hike. The Transport Department on September 17 issued an order allowing the corporations to increase bus fares by an average of 18%. However, the order was withheld after the Chief Minister intervened.

In fact, the September 17 order turned out to be a huge embarrassment to the Chief Minister as it was issued on the very day he announced the decision to cut tax on petroleum products. Within hours of the announcement, Mr. Kumaraswamy directed heads of road transport corporations to put the hike on hold.