BENGALURU : Both officials and experts say transport minister B Sriramulu’s promise in the legislative assembly on Monday that the government would operate more state-run buses in rural areas to avoid mishaps like the one in Pavagada last week, is a tall order, given the deep financial distress state transport undertakings (STUs) are in. Instead, they suggest a hybrid model comprising a judicious mixture of STU and private buses in a 60:40 ratio.
STUs, already heavily bleeding, were given another jolt when oil marketing companies hiked the price of diesel by Rs 25 per litre for bulk users. Data shows the four STUs in the state — Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKSRTC) and North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) — incurred a cumulative revenue loss of about Rs 2,800 crore over the past two years.
