According to sources deepak N, an official with BMTC told the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is set to reduce bus fares in a move to make public transport more attractive and decongestant roads in the city."Bus fares will be reduced. Meanwhile the exact details are being worked and it will be finalized in the next few days".
Perhaps the decision to reduce fares comes after a meeting involving officials of BMTC, Bruhat bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), and bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on wednesday and the meeting was chaired by karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa. Reportedly Yeddyurappa announced that BMTC's fleet of buses will be increased with the addition of 6,000 buses in a phased manner and as of today, the minimum bus fare is Rs 12, and the monthly pass costs Rs 925.
Moreover the decisions were welcomed by civic groups in the city. srinivas Alavilli, co-founder of Citizens for bengaluru (CfB) a citizen group, said "We hope the chief minister Subsidies bus fares by 50%. All over the world bus fares are heavily subsidized because investment in bus is investment in public health. It was recently done in mumbai and Delhi. Even when the BMTC did a pilot, the volume (of commuters) increased. If bus fares are low and they are reliable and fast, there will be even more people taking the bus thereby adding to the revenues of BMTC".
