The BJP in Karnataka on Friday (January 3) protested the state authorities’s determination to extend bus fares by 15%, decrying the transfer as a “New 12 months present” to commuters.
Chief of Opposition within the Karnataka Meeting and former transport minister R Ashok and different BJP leaders distributed roses to bus passengers on the Kempegowda Bus Station in search of “an apology on behalf of” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for the value hike.
The ruling Congress on Thursday (January 2) permitted a cupboard determination to hike the ticket fares of state-run buses from January 5.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy stated the choice was necessitated by the rising expenditure on gas, employees and different operational prices, following the introduction of the Shakti scheme in June 2023. The BJP has lengthy criticised the scheme, which affords free bus journey for girls.
Firstly, what’s the Shakti Scheme?
The Shakti scheme is without doubt one of the 5 ballot ensures Congress had promised within the run-up to the 2023 meeting elections. The state has 4 highway transport companies (RTCs): Karnataka State Street Transport Company (KSRTC), Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Company (BMTC), Kalyan Karnataka Street Transport Company (KKRTC) and North Western Karnataka Street Transport Company (NWKRTC).
Beneath the scheme, the RTCs challenge “zero-sum tickets” to ladies travelling in authorities buses. The respective company then calculates the ticket worth of the entire distance travelled by the girl and submits the declare to the federal government for reimbursement.
How has the Shakti scheme impacted the operations of the RTCs?
The state authorities’s flagship scheme was launched on June 11, 2023. By January 2, 2025, an estimated 363 crore ladies passengers have benefitted from the scheme. Moreover, the day by day passenger rely has surged by 25% throughout all RTCs post-Shakti scheme. Whereas the day by day passenger rely was 93 lakh earlier than the Shakti scheme, the quantity has surged to 1 crore put up the free bus scheme for girls.
To cater to the rising demand, the transport division has inducted 4,304 buses for the years 2023-24 and 2024-25. BMTC bought the best share of 1510 buses adopted by KSRTC (1118), KKRTC (1014) and NWKRTC (662). Nevertheless, the division is within the means of inducting a further 1346 buses for all of the RTCs. KSRTC is working a further 4,828 schedules day by day put up the scheme, whereas BMTC is working a further 5,808 schedules day by day, resulting in a surge in gas consumption.
In accordance with Reddy, the finance division reimbursed Rs 6,543 crore for the Shakti scheme between June 2023 and November 2024, whereas the RTCs nonetheless face a deficit of Rs 1694 crore. Moreover, the RTCs additionally sought monetary support from the federal government to clear PF (Provident Fund) dues amounting to Rs 2792 crore, together with curiosity on delayed funds.
So why the hike in bus fares?
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy defined that the value hike was necessitated by the rising expenditure on gas, employees and different operational prices given the rising demand for bus journey following the Shakti scheme.
He added that ticket fares haven’t been revised for the final 5 years in some transport companies, corresponding to BMTC, the place there was no fare improve since 2014.
“The day by day diesel price in 2020 was Rs 9.16 crore which has now surged to Rs 13.12 crore in simply 4 years. A 15% wage revision between 2020-23 has considerably elevated day by day employees prices. The typical day by day employees price in 2020 was Rs 12.85 and has now elevated to Rs 18.36 crore. With rising prices and gathered dues, the value hike was important,” stated Reddy.
He additionally stated that whereas the BJP authorities had offered a grant to cowl internet salaries, the distinction between gross and internet salaries remained unpaid, resulting in an gathered burden of Rs 5900 crore on the finish of their time period.
And what has the BJP alleged?
R Ashok has alleged that the Congress-led authorities had incurred monetary liabilities as a result of misgovernance, and was climbing the costs of commodities and providers to cowl the loss.
He stated, “Present (electrical energy) cost, steerage worth on homes, water tariff, milk and costs of different commodities have elevated. As a New 12 months Reward, the bus worth has additionally elevated.”
Ashok stated, “Within the final 10 years, worth hikes have occurred for some RTCs. Throughout this era, TA/DA, gas prices have elevated, however there was no hike within the ticket worth. After I accomplished my tenure as transport minister in 2013, BMTC and KSRTC had a revenue of Rs 1000 crore.”
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Thursday (January 2) stated that the fare hikes have been inevitable given the rising operational bills day by day throughout the highway transport companies.
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