Mangaluru: Private bus commuters were in for a surprise after the Dakshina Kannada Regional Transport Authority announced a unilateral hike in fares of private buses with immediate effect.
While the minimum fare of Rs. 7 for the first stage of 2 km in city buses has remained unchanged, the minimum fare in express buses has been increased by Re. 1, from Rs. 7 to Rs. 8 for the first stage of 6.5 km. The RTA has granted Re. 1 hike for all the subsequent stage of city bus fares. As far as express and service buses are concerned, the maximum hike has been Rs. 2.80.
Though the hike was announced on Wednesday evening, the bus operators are yet to implement the changes. As most of the buses are equipped with electronic ticketing machines, they will have to configure the machines to give tickets with revised fares.
