Private bus fares to stay steady even as public transport cost spikes

Mangaluru: In a welcome decision for commuters in Dakshina Kannada, the Canara Bus Owners’ Association has announced that private bus fares will remain un-changed for now, despite mounting financial challenges faced by bus opera-tors. This move offers relief to local passengers amid a state-imposed 15% hike in fares for Karnataka’s government-run buses.

Rajavarma Ballal, president of the Canara Bus Owners’ Association, highlight-ed the issues plaguing private bus operators, including reduced passenger numbers due to the state government’s Shakti scheme, rising diesel prices, and increased costs of vehicle spare parts. Speaking to the media, he noted that while a fare hike is likely in the future as bus owners recover from Covid-induced financial setbacks, no immediate decision has been made. A meeting of the association’s office bearers is planned to assess the situation further. In contrast, passengers across Karnataka have expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Congress-led state government’s approval of a 15% fare hike for pub-lic transport services, including KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC, and KKRTC buses. The new fares, effective Sunday, have drawn criticism from commuters already grappling with rising prices of commodities in the state.