Udupi: Passengers travelling in private stage carriage buses across Karnataka will have to pay higher fares from June 9, with operators announcing a fare revision of five to eight per cent. The decision was announced by State Federation of Private Stage Carriage Bus Owners’ Associations president Kuyiladi Suresh Nayak.
Fuel prices witnessed a steady rise over the past year. The government had earlier increased diesel tax by Rs 3 per litre, while the Centre raised fuel prices in four phases, resulting in an overall increase of Rs 8.17 per litre. These hikes have significantly impacted operational expenses for bus operators.
Addressing a press conference in Udupi, Nayak said the bus industry is facing severe financial pressure due to rising diesel prices, increasing maintenance costs, higher prices of spare parts and growing employee wages. He said that revising passenger fares had become unavoidable.
Nayak pointed out that costs related to tyre retreading, vehicle repairs, spare-part procurement and routine maintenance have risen sharply. In addition, bus owners are facing increased expenditure on staff salaries, insurance premiums, road taxes and other mandatory charges.
He said the fare revision has been implemented in accordance with the State Government’s 2020 notification governing fare adjustments for private stage carriage services. The federation had submitted a proposal seeking approval for the revised fares, which has now been cleared.
Bus operators clarified that concessions currently extended to school students will continue without any changes. Students will not face any additional burden due to the fare hike, the federation assured.
The revised fares are expected to come into effect across the state from June 9. Representatives of various bus owners’ associations, including Canara Bus Owners’ Association president Rajavarma Ballal and Sadananda Chatra, were present during the press conference.
The fare revision comes amid increasing operational challenges for private transport operators, who say rising input costs have made it difficult to run services without adjusting ticket prices.
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