The Karnataka bus fare hike will increase ticket prices on Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) services by 35% and fares on the state’s other road transport corporations by 23%, with the revised rates taking effect from Wednesday night, November 4, according to Transport Minister B. Suresh.
The increase will affect BMTC, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC). The minister said the rise in ordinary BMTC fares would range from ₹4 to ₹12, while fares on KSRTC, NWKRTC and KKRTC buses would increase by ₹9 to ₹18 depending on the stage of travel.
The decision comes after several years without a major revision in fares for the state-run transport corporations. BMTC fares were last revised in 2014, while fares for KSRTC, NWKRTC and KKRTC were last increased in 2020. A 15% fare increase was introduced in January 2025, meaning the latest revision comes less than two years later.
The transport department said rising operating costs were behind the decision. According to the minister, diesel prices have increased seven times since May this year, resulting in a cumulative rise of ₹10.47 per litre. The four corporations spend about 80% of their revenue on diesel and staff-related expenses, he said.
The corporations together spend approximately ₹15.60 crore on diesel each day, or around ₹5,694 crore annually, according to figures shared by the minister. Higher fuel prices, salary revisions, rising spare-parts costs and the absence of regular fare revisions have contributed to combined losses of about ₹10,200 crore, he said.
The revised fares are lower than the increases sought by the transport corporations and recommended by the public transport fare control committee chaired by retired IAS officer Atul Kumar Tiwari. KSRTC, KKRTC and NWKRTC had sought a 90% increase, while BMTC had sought a 180% increase. The committee recommended a 45% increase for BMTC and a 34% increase for the other corporations.
The minister said the government had therefore approved a lower increase than both the corporations’ demands and the committee’s recommendations. He also said the state would be willing to reduce fares if the Union government cuts diesel prices.
The fare revision has also raised questions about the financial relationship between fare-paying passengers, government support and Karnataka’s Shakti scheme, which provides free bus travel to women. Suresh said the fare increase was not linked to the scheme and that the government reimburses the corporations for the cost of eligible free travel.
The four corporations carry an average of 1.24 crore passengers daily, including around 74.40 lakh women travelling free under the Shakti scheme, according to the minister. He said the scheme was not causing losses for the corporations because its costs were being released by the government periodically.
The new fares will now apply across the four state-run transport corporations, with the increases varying by corporation, route and travel stage. The revised rates are scheduled to come into force from Wednesday night.
