Karnataka bus strike put off but only after passengers hit hard

Bengaluru: Transport corporation employees have deferred their strike following a high court directive — but not before it had already caused significant disruptions to government bus services across Karnataka on Tuesday.

The Joint Action Committee of the Trade Unions of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation announced the decision after an emergency meeting and asked all employees to return to work immediately.

It also urged the government to resolve its demands.

The committee, comprising six employees' unions representing 1.15 lakh employees, is the seventh respondent in a PIL petition filed by a group of bus passengers from Bengaluru.

The high court on Tuesday directed the petitioners to serve notices on all member unions of the committee and adjourned the hearing until August 7. It also ordered that the strike be withheld until then.

Though the high court had also ordered a halt to Tuesday's strike, the committee stood its ground, noting that it received the order copy too late on Monday to make a decision.

The strike, which began at 6 am, disrupted bus services, especially in the first half of the day.

By 1 pm, the KSRTC had operated only 43.9% of its scheduled services. The KKRTC managed just 29.8%.

To meet the shortfall, transport corporations allowed private buses to run from government bus stations. However, there were complaints of private buses overcharging passengers.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy admitted that private operators may have charged higher fares but said monitoring them was difficult.

He ruled out another meeting with the committee representatives before the next court hearing.

KSRTC Managing Director Akram Pasha said all RTCs, except the BMTC, ran fewer services but private operations helped soften the impact.

"We allowed private bus operations based on demand but they did not share any revenue with us. It was a one-off arrangement," he told DH.

The KSRTC's premium services saw a 50% drop in passenger bookings, and some buses were cancelled due to low demand. Refunds will be issued, Pasha added.

While BMTC claimed it ran more services than usual, passengers in parts of Bengaluru reported shortages.

However, G T Prabhakara Reddy, Chief Traffic Manager (Operations), BMTC, said there were no complaints.

"I was on the ground. I visited Majestic and Kalasipalyam bus stations and 10 depots. There was not a single complaint about bus availability," he said.

The BMTC also operated more Volvo (Vajra and Vayu Vajra) services and added 30-40 casual contract services, he added.

Still, Reddy acknowledged a drop in ridership, with most buses carrying only 20-30 passengers.

The committee went ahead with the strike after a marathon meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday failed to resolve two contentious issues: payment of 38 months' arrears (January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2023) amounting to Rs 1,785 crore and a 25% pay hike from January 1, 2024.

The chief minister offered Rs 718 crore as arrears for 14 months (January 1, 2022, to February 28, 2023), based on a July 2022 report by retired IAS officer M R Sreenivasa Murthy. He assured to discuss the pay hike after the legislature session begins on August 11. The committee rejected both offers.