The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) announced a hike in the fares of its Vajra AC bus services as of January 1. The increase in bus fares are due to rising fuel prices and are intended to protect the financial interests of the corporation, BMTC said in a statement. The price of a monthly pass will be raised from Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,800, and the daily pass price will be increased from Rs 100 to Rs 120. The ticket fare for ordinary monthly pass holders to travel in Vajra services will also be increased from Rs 20 to Rs 25, as will the ticket fare for senior citizens' ordinary monthly pass holders.
In addition, free rides provided to monthly pass holders (ordinary) and senior citizen monthly pass holders (ordinary) to travel in Vajra services on Sundays have been withdrawn. In December 2020 BMTC had announced that regular bus pass holders could travel in Vajra services on Sundays without any extra cost, which has now been withdrawn.
According to The Hindu, the fares for Vajra buses were reduced last year in an effort to increase ridership, which had decreased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this reduction was only intended to be temporary, and a decision has now been made to revoke the concession in order to reduce operational costs.