Karnataka’s decision to raise bus fares has triggered a sharp protest from the state BJP, which has demanded an immediate rollback of the increase and publication of the transport corporations’ full loss accounts. The revised fares for KSRTC and BMTC services are scheduled to take effect from Wednesday night, according to a report by Prajavani.
The state government has increased KSRTC bus ticket fares by 23% and BMTC fares by 35%. In Bengaluru, the minimum ticket price is set to rise from ₹6 to ₹10, an increase of about 67%, while the maximum KSRTC fare will go up by ₹9. The overall increase for passengers is reported to range from ₹4 to ₹20, depending on the service and journey.
The Karnataka BJP criticised the Congress government over the decision in posts on X. State BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra described the fare increase as an additional burden on poorer residents and accused the government of imposing higher costs after increasing prices for milk, curd and electricity. His remarks were reported by Prajavani.
Vijayendra said the fare increase would affect workers travelling to earn a livelihood, students commuting to schools and colleges, patients travelling to hospitals and other daily passengers. He questioned whether ordinary residents should bear the cost of what he described as the government’s poor financial management.
The BJP also criticised the government’s welfare and pricing policies, alleging that it had increased the cost of essential services while presenting its guarantees as public relief. In another social media post, the party used strongly worded criticism of the Congress government and said people would continue to face hardship as the prices of essential services rose.
The party’s principal demand is that the government disclose the complete financial accounts of the state transport corporations before proceeding with the fare increase. It has also called for the revised fares to be withdrawn immediately. The report did not include a response from the Karnataka government to the BJP’s allegations.
The fare revision places the cost of public transport at the centre of a wider political dispute over the finances of state-run bus services. For passengers, the immediate issue is the change in the price of routine journeys, with the revised KSRTC and BMTC fares due to begin from Wednesday night. The government’s order and the implementation of the new fare structure will determine how the increase is applied across different routes and services.
