BMTC bus fares in Bengaluru will rise from Rs 6 to Rs 10 for the minimum ticket, while the maximum fare on regular city services will increase from Rs 35 to Rs 45 after Karnataka announced fare revisions across its four state-run transport corporations.
Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh said the revised fares would come into force from Wednesday midnight. The increase will also affect premium city services, with the maximum fare on BMTC’s air-conditioned Vajra buses rising from Rs 75 to Rs 90.
The fare for Vayu Vajra airport services connecting Bengaluru with Kempegowda International Airport will increase to as much as Rs 425, up from Rs 405. These services are operated by BMTC and form a key public transport link between the city and the airport.
Across Karnataka, the maximum increase in fares for the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation has been capped at Rs 9, according to the minister. The revision applies to the state’s four government-run transport corporations, although the report did not provide a complete fare table for every service and route.
Suresh attributed the decision to higher diesel prices and said Karnataka had followed fare increases announced by the Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra governments. “Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra governments too have increased bus fares, so we are also hiking bus fare,” he told reporters.
The change places the regular BMTC minimum fare at Rs 10, a rise of Rs 4, or about 67 per cent. The maximum fare on ordinary city buses will increase by Rs 10. For passengers using the city’s premium and airport services, the revised fares will add between Rs 15 and Rs 20 to the highest reported ticket prices.
The minister said fares for luxury services, including Rajahamsa and air-conditioned buses, were determined with competitive market prices in mind. The report did not specify how the revised fares would vary across individual routes or whether concession categories would change.
The revision comes while Karnataka continues to provide free travel for women on non-luxury government buses under the Shakti scheme. The scheme allows eligible women to travel anywhere in the state on covered services without paying a ticket fare. The fare announcement did not state whether the scheme’s eligibility rules or the services covered by it would be altered.
The fare changes will take effect at midnight on Wednesday, with the revised rates applying across the affected state-run bus services from then onward.
