Transport minister rules out bus fare hike for now

Transport Minister Laxman Savadi on Sunday said that the department was incurring heavy losses, but ruled out any hike in bus fares.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Republic Day event here, Savadi said, "The Transport department is incurring heavy losses due to multiple reasons, including price hike in fuel and spare parts, free bus pass et al. The BMTC alone is incurring Rs 1 crore loss a day."

"The department is currently fourth in revenue generation. The situation is likely to improve by March-end. A few overseas companies have come up with a proposal to provide electric bus on revenue-sharing basis. They are ready to provide the vehicles on 60:40 ratio (60 for state and 40 for the providers) if the state provide them with the routes and bus stands. The proposal will come up for discussion in the meeting scheduled for Monday," the minister said.