Students were seen making calls to their parents asking for more money to buy the passes as the BMTC hiked the rates by Rs 100 across the board for this academic year.

The revised pass rates for 2011-12 are Rs 700 for high school students, Rs 1,100 for college students and Rs 1,400 for medical, technical and evening college students. High school girls can pay Rs 525 for the pass as they get a 25 per cent discount from the government.

The rates for the 10-month pass in the academic year were at Rs 600 (Rs 450 for girls), Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,300, respectively. Although the primary and middle school students are eligible for free passes they are charged Rs 70 as IT fee, insurance and service charges.

Sources in the BMTC told Deccan Herald that the increase in the pass rates was only marginal and that it is not something the Corporation could have avoided. Strangely, the public announcement was silent on the hike in the pass rates. Santosh Kumar, a student of RBANMS said: "There was no intimation on the hike in rates. I have to come from Kammanahalli all over again tomorrow."