Reduction in bus fares only if fuel prices drop further: Minister

The government will consider reducing the fares of state-owned transport corporation buses if the prices of crude oil in the international market dropped further, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy told the Legislative Council on Monday.

Ramachandra Gowda of the BJP demanded that the government bring down the bus fares since private transport operators were not doing so and the drop in prices of diesel and petrol were not being passed on to the people.  Reddy, for his part, argued that despite the drop in prices of crude oil, no state in the country had reduced the bus fares as nobody knew if the downslide would be lasting.

State-run transport corporations can save Rs 146 crore if the prices remain stable until the end of March 2015. And if there is further slide in fuel prices, the government could consider reducing the fares, he added.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too said that the government could consider bringing down the fares if fuel prices further dropped.