Karnataka is set to decide on a possible increase in fares for government-run buses on November 4, after a meeting with senior officials of the state’s four transport corporations on November 3. Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh said the fare revision was being considered to reduce the financial pressure on the corporations after repeated diesel price increases.
The minister said the four transport corporations had faced five diesel price increases over the past year. He described a bus fare increase as unavoidable to ease their financial burden, but did not disclose the proposed percentage or revised fare slabs.
The announcement follows the state Cabinet’s approval of a proposal to increase the price of Nandini milk by ₹8 per litre from November 1. The government’s decision on bus fares will be taken separately by the Transport Department after discussions with senior officials of the four corporations.
According to the minister, the Cabinet held an extensive discussion on the proposed fare increase and sought the views of its members. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah subsequently entrusted the decision-making process to the Transport Department.
The November 3 meeting will bring together senior officials from all four state transport corporations. The outcome of that meeting is expected to inform the government’s decision, which the minister said would be announced on November 4.
The proposed revision would affect passengers using Karnataka’s government bus network, although the source report does not specify whether the increase would apply uniformly across services or vary by route and corporation. It also does not state whether any category of passengers would be exempted or whether concessions would be changed.
Karnataka’s state-run bus corporations are a central part of daily mobility for residents travelling between urban areas and across the state. Any fare increase would therefore have a direct effect on regular passengers, while the government’s stated justification centres on operating costs and the financial condition of the transport corporations.
The government has not yet announced the final fare structure. The next formal step is the meeting with senior officials on November 3, followed by the announcement of the fare decision on November 4.
