Ticketless travel surges on KSRTC buses, over 2 lakh passengers caught in 5 years across Karnataka

Bengaluru: What are the chances that every passenger standing in a crowded bus has purchased a ticket for the journey?Data from Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), the state’s largest road transport corporation, shows that more than 2.1 lakh ticketless passengers were caught over the past five financial years. Had these cases gone undetected, the cash-strapped corporation would have lost nearly Rs 50 lakh in ticket revenue between 2021-22 and 2025-26 (till March). Fare evasion has also shown an upward trend, with 48,751 ticketless passengers caught in 2025-26, the highest in the five-year period.Interestingly, the Shakthi scheme, which provides free travel to women domiciled in Karnataka, appears to have had little impact on curbing fare evasion. After ticketless travel worth Rs 9 lakh was detected in 2022-23, the value of evaded fares remained above Rs 10 lakh every year thereafter, reaching Rs 13 lakh in 2025-26.Through regular ticket-checking drives, KSRTC has recovered revenue and imposed increasingly higher penalties on offenders. Between 2021-22 and 2025-26, the corporation levied fines totalling Rs 3.5 crore. The highest amount, Rs 92.6 lakh, was collected in 2025-26, compared with Rs 50.4 lakh in 2021-22.In April alone, KSRTC checked 41,308 buses and caught 4,462 ticketless passengers who had evaded fares worth Rs 1.3 lakh. Fines amounting to Rs 8.6 lakh were imposed, and the corporation said disciplinary action was initiated against staff responsible for the revenue loss.Officials attribute the rise in detected fare evasion partly to higher ticket prices and intensified enforcement. “Along with ticket prices, penalties have also increased over the years in tune with diesel hikes,” a senior KSRTC official told TOI.The official said additional checking teams have been deployed, leading to more detections. “Most evasions are found either early in the morning or late at night,” he said.According to officials, fare evasion is particularly common on buses operating their final trips of the day in rural taluks. City services, including those in Mysuru, also contribute to the numbers.Unlike reserved trains, buses do not undergo mandatory ticket verification, making it difficult to accurately estimate revenue losses. A KSRTC official said the actual value of fare evasion could be “more than double” the amount detected through inspections.