Bengaluru has emerged as the Indian city with the largest public sector bus fleet, operating 7,067 buses, followed by Chennai, Mumbai, and Delhi, according to Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy. At the state level, Karnataka leads with 26,054 buses, equivalent to 3.81 buses per 1,000 people, outpacing Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.

Of the total, 18,987 buses operate across the state outside Bengaluru. Mr Reddy made the announcement amid renewed calls from Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, former Infosys CFO T.V. Mohandas Pai, and Yulu co-founder R.K. Misra to privatise the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).

The Minister dismissed the proposal as commercially motivated, saying it goes against public welfare. “Karnataka and Bengaluru lead the nation in bus numbers, ridership, and service quality. Those advocating privatisation have vested interests and are not considering commuters’ welfare,” he said.

India’s Top City Fleets

Bengaluru: 7,067 buses (1,799 electric), carrying 4.8 million passengers daily.

Chennai: 3,651 buses (230 electric), carrying 3.4 million passengers.

Mumbai: 3,794 buses (1,121 electric and 2,340 leased), carrying 2.5 million passengers.

Delhi: 3,222 buses (2,526 electric), serving 2.4 million passengers.

Kolkata: 750 buses, serving 600,000 passengers.

Mr Reddy stated that these figures demonstrate BMTC’s efficiency and scale. “Some people want to privatise this service for profit, but the government’s goal is public service, not revenue,” he said.

Karnataka Leads the Nation

At the national level, Karnataka’s 3.81 buses per 1,000 people far exceed the national average of 1.2. The state’s operations span four major transport corporations — Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC).

Comparative data shared by the Minister showed:

Tamil Nadu: 20,912 buses (2.7 per 1,000 people)

Maharashtra: 16,900 buses (1.32 per 1,000 people)

Uttar Pradesh: 13,031 buses (0.54 per 1,000 people)

Andhra Pradesh: 11,111 buses (2.07 per 1,000 people)

“In every measure — fleet size, passenger volume, and reliability — Karnataka ranks first,” Mr Reddy said proudly.

Transport Infrastructure Challenges

Reflecting on past infrastructure efforts, Mr Reddy credited former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna’s road-widening projects for easing traffic congestion in Bengaluru. However, he lamented that later governments did not continue them.

“With limited funds and rising land compensation costs, large-scale road expansion is difficult today. The only viable alternatives now are tunnel roads and flyovers,” he explained.

He also cited Andhra Pradesh’s continuity in road projects under N. Chandrababu Naidu as an example of effective urban planning, contrasting it with Karnataka’s discontinuity in long-term infrastructure execution.