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BMTC fare hike - mismanagement of funds?
ss87 - 27 June, 2011 | Bangalore | BMTC | Bus | Analysis | fares | Transportation | public transport
While there have been good inputs of routes and various features like Bus Day and other things going fine there was a huge blow-rise in diesel rates by Rs.3 a litre. Immediately there was a bus fare increase announced by the transport corporations-was this hike seriously necessary??
The diesel fares rose by Rs.3. An average BMTC bus gives about 4kmpl(Written on the right side over the diesel tank)-and some new ones go up to 5kmpl. that means an avreage increase of about 75paise per litre. and the number of passengers travelling by bus is about an avreage of 40-45-meaning there is absoultely just about 1 to 1p increase per passenger-but the effect-there has been increase of Re.1 per kilometer on average which means its an absolute complete revenue per pasenger to that increase of fare.
Now where did BMTC use the revenue-apart from regular administrative expenses the following others take place
- Replacement/procurement of buses-this wasnt done last year according to latst news-previous to that procurement was from JNNURM funds
- Construction of bus stands/TTMC's-mainly again through JNNURM funds as clearly displayed
- Issue of school concessional passes-subsidised by Government-BMTC's website generally doest take into consideration calculating its revenue and same is mentioned there
- Day passes and other passes- It was a good initiative by BMTC followed in other states too- but the catch here is at present even if it meant changing 2 buses minimum ther eought to use a day pass for the fares are so high-on the other hand if fares were lesser why would people opt for day pass-once people opting for day passes reduce, resale of the same would reduce-the same would lead to more revenue.
- volvo buses- suppossed to be incurring losses in the start they have started to make profit-and like ordinary buses tech parks like Manyata and associations like ORRCA have started hiring them too which means there is a assured revenue there-So this is not an issue anymore
Its a sheer thing that BMTC has failed to analyse the following aspects:
- The starting stages jump by Rs.2-for travelling 3 kms if a person has to shell out Rs.8 2 wheeler becomes cheaper option-more agile people prefer to walk the distance rather than paying the same-and people in groups take an auto-so these are revenue losses for BMTC-if the fare hike in the starting stages is reduced BMTC can definitely increase its revenue by leaps and bound as many people travel shorter distances rather than longer
- The scheduling the depot trips arent proper-a bus generally runs empty to the depot from nearest bus stand-meaning diesel is consumed but there is no revenue in that thing-generally noticable in afternoons
- The other aspect(Regarding volvo especially) - there are only 4 depots capable of handling volvo-why should these buse stravel all the way to sepot instead of resting at the bus stands itselfs in the afternoon-you find many buses with board of Silk board or Kamakhya plying one after the other without passengers-rather they can remain at ITPL/Banashankari or embark short trips to majestic - The other thing is improper allocation of depots-258C(Nelamangla to Majestic) and 335E(ITPL to majestic) have sheds at Kathriguppe instead of majestic-in the end they ply one behin dthe other towards depot from majestic and in majority cases empty. why cant they be housed at majestic which too is a volvo depot instead of wasting diesel all the way??
Apart from all these things Government grants doesnt seem to suffice-the taxes and all other levies are higher in Karnataka compared to other states-despite this revenue looks like Govt is greedy for more-if it can subsidise the exenses of BMTC with this revenue consumers will not be burning holes in the pocket-where did this revenue go??
Also when a vast netwrok like Railways have managed funds well and havent even thought of rising the fares why is BMTC unable to do so despite such high fares bein charged already-where is all the revenue earned these days go??
COMMENTS
Chennai -Bangalore-Hyd
dineshpkm - 17 September, 2011 - 10:22
In chennai, bus fares are cheap but Heavily crowded.
In Hyd, the share auto fares are lesser than express buses(true!), so short distance commuters prefer share auto.
Bangalore bus is costly affair. But Volvos are a good choice if we want to travel in peace.
People protest on unwanted issues, Not issues like this
Vasanth - 29 June, 2011 - 03:11
People all over Karnataka protest for unwanted issues such as the location of a statue, damage to a statue, protests demanding NICE road to be free for everyone etc., but not for something that is hitting them hard. This unjustifiabe fare hike should be protested by people in front of Vidhana Soudha / KBS / Chief Minister's house. Ladies are especially dependent on BMTC since many do not know how to ride / cannot afford a car and have a driver, cannot afford auto and are dependent on public transport. Gents have more option.
This burning issue should be protested. Opposition parties are after the Chiefminister to pull his leg, rather than taking up this unjustifiabe fare hike.
Reality is - common man protesting is very rare
dvsquare - 29 June, 2011 - 04:06
Vasanth,
The unwanted issues you have mentioned - location of a statue, damage to a statue, protests demanding NICE road to be free for everyone etc, the reality is that no common man protests for those. They are the hired ones, by the so-called our leaders, political leaders to be precise. Common man who can't afford a proper 2-meal food is being hired by these goons and given money for their protest against all these unawnted issues. KRV like organization only come forward when they see they can make a issue and come into limelight by making language a issue, local-outsider a issue, to do some nuisances, I don't see anybody coming for protests against state government for reducing the cess in petroleum products.
Nobody protesting against BMTC, and BMTC also not finding out how to increase profit by doing some more research and get into more revenue making routes (which are unexplored right now like this one) and still not increase the fares.
Deepak
Fare Hike Justification analysis
psaram42 - 28 June, 2011 - 04:13
The fare hike analysis with 1 paisa per passenger assuming 100% occupancy at all times could be misleading. However the income expenditure of the transport and other government departments need to be absolutely transparent with paperless work culture.
difficult to arrive at a proper fare hike
blrpraj - 28 June, 2011 - 06:25
With inflation skyrocketing, a drastic increase in operating costs is inevitable. And definitely, calculating a correctly justifiable price hike is very difficult. What i don't understand though is why the increase in operating costs was not covered by increasing private 4 wheeler vehicle taxes, private vehicle congestion taxes, petrol taxes etc.
Why BMTC not using CNG like Delhi, 100/125 cc bikes economical
Vasanth - 28 June, 2011 - 08:06
Transportation corporations of Delhi, Mumbai and other major corporations across the country are using CNG instead of Diesel. This reduces pollution and Government can prevent hike of CNG to favour Government operated buses.
ss87 is bang on point. If we consider Fuel efficient 4 stroke 100cc bikes, they give 70+ kpl in good condition and around 65 kpl in Bangalore conditions. This comes to around 1Rupee to 1 Re 20 paise per km. This seems to be more economical, reliable and door to door service, so people who can afford will switch over to fuel efficient Bikes. Many will be already having and using it near home, for far off places, they would use BMTC. But, this trend will decrease.
Today, from my home at BSK 3rd Stage to Devegowda bunk, in ordinary bus I had to give 7 rupees to catch my office shuttle. It is just 2 kms. Same travel in a bike would cost me less than 3 rupees and it would be door to door. Where will Bangalore traffic reduce and how will Bus days succeed?
reliable and door to door
idontspam - 28 June, 2011 - 10:30
reliable and door to door service,
So hard to get away from this door to door addiction. Without disincentives even nicitone addiction will be easier to get over :)
Difference between Private and public enterprises
psaram42 - 28 June, 2011 - 13:33
Survival of a private enterprise is dependent on due diligence and innovation to avoid losses in a competitive environment. It is not so for BMTC, a public company without competition. If there are no leakages we need not bother.
Door to door with a gym at home is an impending doom.
The bus fare hike is th worst
ss87 - 28 June, 2011 - 14:40
The bus fare hike is th worst to the core-Dont know what the authorities were thinking contemplating the same
As I travelled from Mico Layout to Townhall by bus No. 25 today the fare charged was Rs.12-this was the same as what existed last week too-same while retuen-whereas in same bus the fare to 4th block was Rs.9 and Day pass was Rs.45-and also fare to majestic too remains unchanged at Rs.13-has BMTC decided to stop short distance commuter from taking the bus??
Comparison of Fares
kumarvjn - 15 July, 2011 - 06:59
Whether any one can put a comparison of fares across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mubai, Delhi doe different types of services offered by each transport corporation.
BMTC Fare Hike Disparities
kumarvjn - 15 July, 2011 - 07:10
Before the recent hike, all of a sudden BMTC increased the fares of their Tata Marco-Polo A/C buses which were operated in 60A routes.
For example, Vijayanagar to Basavanagudi Police Station fare was increased from Rs. 15/- to Rs. 16/-
The fare in the ordinary buses were not touched at that time and it was Rs. 11/-
The difference between two services was Rs. 4/- (prior to increase) and Rs. 5/- (after increase)
Recent increase is totally disproportionate.
Now the present fares are:
Vijayanagar to Basavanagudi Police Station in Tata Marco-Polo A/C bus is Rs. 18/-
And in non A/C buses the fare is Rs. 12/-
The difference between two types of services has been increased to Rs. 6/-
Secondly, all buses such as 500K/600K etc, were diverted via Chandra Layout with a increase of Rs. 5/- per ticket. But for some strange reasons this increased is also applicable for passengers travelling between places like Indira Nursing Home and Nayandanahalli Signal.
Of all the cities chennai is
ss87 - 16 July, 2011 - 06:35
Of all the cities chennai is the most cheapest with regards public transport-there are many types of buses in Chennai each one having a different rate system-starting from White board with minimum of Rs.2 up to Deluxe(The deluxe is somewhat equal to the Bangalore buses-the white board,LSS being the ricketiest and dirtiest lot) having minimum fare of Rs.5-but the catch is for distance of 18kms between Ambattur and Chennai the fare by Deluxe bus is Rs10 only. the main reason being the fares jump Re1 per stage as against Rs.2 in Bangalore. Volvo have minimum of Rs10 but again the increase per stage is lesser compared to Bangalore-the old buses put the board as Express charing 1.5 times ordinary fare but still cheaper than Deluxe buses
Had been on a visit to Hyderabad last week-Different types of buses run there too(Of course maintainence an driving very poor-a bus had a broken bumper too but was called Express charing high fare)-the old ones charge minimum of Rs.4 and the Metro Express and new ones(JNNURM funded) have minimum of Rs.6-For distance of about 3.5 kms the fare by the New ones was Rs.8 but again the stage system and other things see to it that the fare is still lesser than Bangalore bus fares. But buses were quite empty(Seemed like people rarely use buses-Auto charge is also lesser and hence the bus auto difference is same as Bangalore's-some places autos work out cheaper-Didnt see much use of pass there
In Bangalore, BMTc, just a week before fare increase the fare to majestic from J.P.Nagar was suddenly brought down to Rs.12-the fare increase has again taken it to Rs.13. If BMTC fares jump by Re.1 in the 2nd and 3rd stage(At present stage 1 is Rs.4 and stage 2 Rs.7) the fare will be cheaper than the city of Hyderabad and more people will travel by buses over short distances too-But among these cities BMTC has better quality and cleanliness even in the ordinary buses
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