BMTC’s digital push in Bengaluru buses: daily revenue from UPI transactions touches record high of Rs 83 lakh after fare hike

BMTC was the first transport corporation in Karnataka to introduce UPI payments in May 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it received a lukewarm response due to the slow pace of adoption and facilitation of digital payments. Since May 2021, BMTC has recorded over one crore UPI transactions, minting a revenue of Rs 110 crore in the last five years. The number of transactions increased from 30,997 in 2021 to 1 lakh in 2022, 4.9 lakh in 2023, and 8.2 lakh in 2024. In 2021, monthly revenue from UPI transactions was Rs 36 lakh. This amount increased to Rs 11 crore in 2022, Rs 48 crore in 2023, and reached Rs 50 crore in 2024.

A BMTC spokesperson said, “We started an aggressive push for UPI transactions after the fare hike. The hassle of getting the change from conductors was growing day by day, especially after the fare hike. We have now pasted QR codes to facilitate UPI payments on window panels and entrance doors, and the conductors are also equipped with handheld scanners. With this, the UPI payments have significantly increased. As a token of appreciation, we will also recognise depot managers with certificates, recording the highest UPI transactions in a month.”

However, the majority of transactions in BMTC are still through cash. According to the data shared by BMTC, the central zone has the highest share of UPI transactions with 57 per cent, followed by northwest (40 per cent), and northeast (22 per cent). The least number of UPI transactions was recorded in the south zone (15 per cent).