Ahead of Diwali, bus fares have spiked up astronomically, giving tough competition to flight fares in Bengaluru. Bus fares from Karnataka’s capital to Hubballi were charged around Rs.5,000 per passenger, according to a report by Hindustan Times, Livemint’s sister publication.
A Twitter page called Hubballi-Dharwad Infra shared screenshots comparing bus and flight fares from Bengaluru to Hubballi.
“Bus fares in between Bengaluru and Hubballi giving tough competition to flights And @SWRRLY is yet to notify special trains for Deepavali @sriramulubjp sir for your information! #Hubballi #Bengaluru #Deepavali #DeepavaliSpecial,” the Twitter page wrote.
Bus fares in between Bengaluru and Hubballi giving tough competition to flights😐
And @SWRRLY is yet to notify special trains for Deepavali@sriramulubjp sir for your information!#Hubballi #Bengaluru #Deepavali #DeepavaliSpecial pic.twitter.com/YUnQrSJlQv
— Hubballi-Dharwad Infra (@Hubballi_Infra) October 19, 2022
The Karnataka government has announced 1,500 special buses during Diwali. The buses will be operating exclusively from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda Bus Station (KBS) and link to Dharmastala, Kukkesubramanya, Shivamogga, Hassan, Mangaluru, Kundapura, Shringeri, Horanadu, Davangere, Hubball, Dharwad, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Gokarna, Sirsi, Karwar, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Ballari, Koppala, Yadgir, Bidar.
Separately, the Karnataka Transport minister said that the state government is aiming to convert all 35,000 buses into electric buses by 2030.
“There are about 35,000 buses, there is a demand to make all buses electric, keeping in mind environment and pollution-related concerns. With diesel prices increasing, we are incurring losses. We want all our buses to become electric and we start making profits.. discussions are on in this regard,” state’s Transport Minister B Sriramulu said.
“It is our endeavour that all our buses become electric by 2030. We will make all efforts so that all the 35,000 buses will be converted to electric by 2030,” he said, adding that diesel buses incur a cost of Rs. 68.53 per km. According to the Minister, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) does not purchase electric buses, but is operating them on a contract basis.
He said, BMTC under the Smart City Project is operating 90 electric buses since December 2021 under ‘Gross Cost Contract’ for 12 years, and the per kilometer (km) cost of these buses is Rs. 64.67. Under the central government’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric vehicles – FAME II scheme, 300 electric buses have been ordered, and out of them 75 buses have begun operation since August 15, 2022, and the per km cost of these buses is Rs.61.90. Further, under the Centre’s FAME II scheme an order has been issued on August 17, 2022, to operate 921 electric buses through Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL); per km cost of these buses is Rs. 54, he noted.
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