Date:31/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/31/stories/2008083154440500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Fare hike shocks commuters

Anil Kumar Sastry

‘The hike is too high and KSRTC could have been moderate’

BANGALORE: The fare hike by State road transport corporations on Thursday came as an unpleasant surprise. Whoever boarded the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses after midnight was in for a shock when conductors asked them to cough up more.

T.S. Phaneendra, businessman, who boarded a KSRTC bus to Davanagere at Majestic early Friday, had to pay Rs. 151 instead of the usual Rs. 133 for Karnataka Sarige service. “The conductor explained to me that the fares have gone up from midnight,” he said. The hike was too high and the KSRTC could have been moderate, he added.

T.K. Suryavamshi, engineer, sought to know the rationale behind the fare hike. On the one hand the corporations and the Government exhorted people to patronise public transport and shun private vehicles, on the other they made the services beyond their reach. The Government should support transport corporations either by way of subsidy or by way of tax exemption on purchase of buses and other inputs and should not pass on the burden of inflation on the common man, he said.

Most people The Hindu spoke to were critical of bus fare hike, but there were a few who sympathised with the corporations. Sundara Rajan, a private firm employee, said that over the years, the corporations had been performing well and had revamped their fleet. The hike in diesel price and other consumables had affected the transport industry, and the fare hike was inevitable for their existence, he added.

Meanwhile, a few people pointed out that the KSRTC, North West KRTC and the North East KRTC had been collecting infrastructure cess ranging from Re. 1 to Rs. 10 on every ticket since 2007. The KSRTC alone collected Rs. 40 crore during 2007-08 and Rs. 20 crore between April and July this year. Hence, the justification that the hike was meant to fund mega infrastructure projects was unjustified, they said.

Transport Minister R. Ashok, who is also the Chairman of the corporations, defended the fare hike stating that the corporations were incurring losses owing to the increasing cost of inputs.

To assuage the feelings of the travelling public, Mr. Ashok said that the KSRTC would soon reduce the reservation fee from Rs. 15 to Rs. 10 and offer more concession on student passes, including free travel for students up to the high school level.