Bengaluru: The travel by Vajra buses will continue to be cheaper as the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has decided to continue fare concession till May end.
BMTC had started the fare concession scheme from 1 January 2018 to attract more passengers to use the Vajra buses. The Corporation was incurring losses due to low usage of these air-conditioned buses. The average concession on ticket price was 29 percent. In addition, the BMTC had also offered upto 37 percent concession on some routes.
The concession was planned only for one month on an experimental basis but as the corporation witnessed gradual increase in passengers, it extended the offer till February end.
However, this comfort for commuters comes at a price for the BMTC. Since the implementation of the scheme, the number of passengers using Vajra buses has increased by 10 percent. Despite increase in passengers, BMTC is losing close to Rs 2 Lakh everyday on account of the fare concession. According to sources, the BMTC can break even only if the passenger growth reaches at least 25 percent.
