Private bus operators in Dakshina Kannada have approached the Karnataka High Court against the June 6 fare revision granted by the Regional Transport Authority (RTA), saying the hikes were too meagre to sustain their operations.
V.K. Putran, general secretary of the D.K. Bus Operators Association told The Hindu that the operators had not started collecting fare as per the hike granted by the RTA, as it was not in line with their demands.
“We had demanded a hike of at least Re. 1 for every fare stage, but the RTA allowed Rs. 2, that too only after the fifth stage. This will not benefit many,” he said.
Citing the recent notification by the Transport Department, Mr. Putran said the petition was filed in the court on Wednesday. The July 31, 2013 notification by the department prescribed a minimum fare of Rs. 7 for the first stage of 2 km for buses operated in the corporation limits of Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli, Belgaum and Mangalore.
For the next stage, the maximum hike fixed was Rs. 5 and for every subsequent stage, it was Rs. 3.
The operators sought Re. 1 hike for stages beyond the first stage, which was not granted by the authority, he said.
Similarly, the notification prescribed Rs. 8 and Rs. 9 as minimum fare for the first stage of 6.5 km for ordinary and express services operating beyond corporation limits and 85 paisa and 95 paisa respectively for every km beyond 6.5 km. This too was not acceded by the RTA, Mr. Putran said.
He said the notification also said that fares of private stage carriages should be revised as and when state transport undertakings revise their fares. It is over a month since KSRTC and its sister corporations increased their fares and no similar action was taken for private operators.
