Transport utilities set to demand fare hike

BENGALURU: With Lok Sabha elections completed, state transport corporations, led by Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), are set to knock on the doors of the govt seeking a green signal to hike bus fares. An upward revision of 10-15% is the collective demand from the corporations.

The push for fare revision is attributed to multiple reasons, including the need to neutralise the financial impact of Shakti scheme, which provides free travel for women, and to upgrade the fleet, which was at one time known to have innovative and elegant buses.Transport minister Ramalinga Reddy told STOI: "After the boards of the corporations submit proposals specifying the quantum of hike being sought, the govt will examine the requests and take a decision."
Sources in RTCs said the govt is contemplating the formation of a regulatory authority for fixing fares.
A KSRTC official said: "Fare revision is overdue. The last revision for KSRTC was done in 2020, while for BMTC it was in 2014. Operational costs, including expenditure on fuel and salary staff, have increased exponentially. Till the last financial year, the RTCs had a loan burden of over Rs 4,000 crore. In the case of KSRTC, the operating cost was Rs 3,950 crore when the last fare revision happened; now it has jumped to Rs 4,828 crore."
Other than this, arrears of close to Rs 1,900 crore are pending as part of wage revision. "On the other hand, in the state, 20 lakh students use RTC buses for commuting. For the past 13 years, no revision was made for student bus passes," the official added. "To maintain good financial health, timely fare revision is a must. Every year, the corporation approaches the state govt seeking a revision. However, because of many factors such as assembly elections and then Lok Sabha elections, the revision didn't happen."
After the financial distress induced by the Covid-19 pandemic, RTCs had postponed the induction of new buses. In the last year, RTCs have managed to increase the fleet size to some extent.
Impact of Shakti
The cash flow of corporations suffered after the introduction of the Shakti scheme, as earlier they used to get cash upfront from passengers. After the govt introduced free bus rides for women last year, transport utilities must submit claims to the finance department via the transport department. The claims are reimbursed after the finance department conducts a thorough audit. The four RTCs have to make do with credits to vendors till then.
Sources said for the previous fiscal, there are dues of Rs 900 crore from the govt. "For the current year, Rs 5,000 crore has been allocated for the Shakti scheme. For the induction of buses and other projects, we have to look for special grants from the govt and explore other options," a source explained.
In the last year, all four corporations have issued more than 223 crore tickets to women availing the benefits of Shakti, launched on June 11, 2023. Corporations have spent more than Rs 5,451 crore to provide free bus travel facilities. In 2020, KSRTC effected a 12% bus fare hike, while BMTC increased fares by 18% in 2014 before implementing a downward revision of 1.5% the following year.