After milk, Karnataka govt hikes bus fares across BMTC, KSRTC, other state-run corporations

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Nov 4, 2026: The Karnataka government on November 4 announced an up to 35 percent hike in fares across its four state-run road transport corporations, including KSRTC and BMTC.

The second bus fare hike under the Congress government in three years kicks in at midnight, coming just days after the state raised Nandini milk prices by Rs 8 a litre.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, transport minister Byrathi Suresh said the decision was taken in view of rising fuel prices, increasing employee-related expenditure and mounting financial losses faced by the four transport corporations.

The average fare hike would be 23 percent for KSRTC and 32-35 percent for BMTC, he said.

The revised fares will apply to KSRTC, BMTC, North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC).

The new rates will cover ordinary, express and air-conditioned services, with the increase varying according to the category of service and distance travelled.

In Bengaluru, BMTC’s minimum fare has been increased from Rs 6 to Rs 10, while the maximum fare has gone up from Rs 35 to Rs 45.

For ordinary services originating from Bengaluru, the fare to Nelamangala and Hoskote has increased from Rs 35 to Rs 44. The fare to Doddaballapur and Anekal has gone up from Rs 38 to Rs 47, while the fare to Magadi and Malur has increased from Rs 46 to Rs 57.

In express services, the fare from Bengaluru to Kolar and Tumakuru has increased from Rs 81 to Rs 100. The fare to Mandya has gone up from Rs 110 to Rs 136, while the fare to Mysuru has increased from Rs 160 to Rs 197. The fare to Hassan has risen from Rs 219 to Rs 270 and to Chikkamagaluru from Rs 295 to Rs 363.

For select AC services, the fare from Central Silk Board to Hebbal has increased from Rs 55 to Rs 65, while the fare to Banashankari has gone up from Rs 50 to Rs 60. The fare from KR Puram to Central Silk Board has increased from Rs 40 to Rs 55.

Women domiciled in Karnataka will continue to travel free on non-AC state-run buses under the government’s Shakti scheme.

Suresh meet transport department officials and the managing directors of the four corporations on November 3 to discuss the fare revision.

Second fare hike since Congress came to power

This is the second bus fare hike since the Congress-led government came to power in Karnataka in May 2023.

On January 2, 2025, the cabinet approved a 15 percent increase in fares.

The latest increase comes days after the state government raised Nandini milk prices by Rs 8 a litre, with the revised rates coming into effect on November 1. Prices of Nandini curd has been raised by up to Rs 14.

Why has Karnataka increased bus fares?

The four corporations together operate around 26,125 buses, with 1.02 lakh employees. They operate around 24,179 schedules and carry an average of 124.79 lakh passengers daily.

Of these, around 74.40 lakh women travel free every day.

The government said nearly 80 percent of the corporations’ expenditure goes towards diesel and employee-related costs.

Diesel prices have increased by Rs 10.47 a litre in 2026 alone, taking the average price to Rs 98.13 as of October 1. The transport corporations spend around Rs 15.60 crore daily, or around Rs 5,694 crore annually, on diesel. They also have outstanding fuel bills of Rs 1,111.88 crore.

Transport corporations report Rs 10,200 crore in losses

The four transport corporations accumulated losses of approximately Rs 10,200 crore. Their liabilities and dues stood at Rs 9,912.10 crore as of September 30.

The liabilities include Rs 2,916.80 crore towards employees’ provident fund contributions, Rs 603.88 crore in other employee-related dues, Rs 664.17 crore towards salary revision and Rs 356.76 crore in other staff payments.

The government also said salary revisions in 2016, 2023 and 2026 had added to the financial burden, with the cumulative additional expenditure estimated at Rs 6,418.04 crore.

The government said periodic fare revisions were necessary to ensure the financial sustainability of state-run transport corporations and maintain public transport services.