Bengaluru, Jan 17 (PTI) Bengaluru Metro has become the costliest in the country, thanks to the state government’s “negligence” in correcting mistakes caused by anomalies in fare fixation, Bengaluru South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said on Saturday.
Bengaluru metro travel now costs nearly twice as much as in Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai, leading to a reduction in the number of metro users, he said.
Alleging that the state government and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) are now looking to hike fares by another 5 per cent in February to offset losses in operations and maintenance, the MP said that these losses are largely the result of frequent delays in metro construction, which significantly increase project costs.
Warning of protests against the fare hike, he urged CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar to show at least some concern for the interests of daily metro commuters by forming a new Fare Fixation Committee and determining a revised fare structure, upholding transparency and the interests of commuters.
Surya on Friday had written to Union Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar, and BMRCL Managing Director J Ravishankar to reconstitute the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) for the Metro Rail, citing serious anomalies in the recent fare revision, which he said have placed an undue financial burden on commuters.
In February 2025, the BMRCL introduced revised prices as per FCC recommendation, resulting in ticket costs going up by up to 71 per cent on a few routes, with maximum rates reaching to Rs 90.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, this punishment meted out to people who use public transport is extremely unfortunate.
“Even before the people are coming out of the last fare hike, which was done only ten months ago, the state government and BMRCL are proposing another 5 per cent fare hike that will come into effect from February 1. This is extremely unfortunate. Governments must be encouraging public transport, especially in cities like Bengaluru where traffic congestion is killing productivity and quality of life. Instead of that BMRCL and the state government are punishing those using public transport like the metro,” he added.
Saying that that the earlier fare fixation committee committed many blunders, unscientific analysis as the result of which the Bengaluru metro prices became “sky high”, the MP said, the demand is that the state government initiate the process to appoint a new fare fixation committee, which will scientifically assess the rate that needs to levied on tickets.
Only based on the new fare fixation committee’s recommendations, the proposed February fare hike should come into effect, he insisted.
“The state government, if it does not heed to all the demands and cries of the commuters and if it goes ahead with this unscientific and anti public second time fare hike, at every metro station lakhs of metro users will join hands to protest,” he added.
To a question on the state government blaming the centre for fare hike, when it happened last time, Surya said, the responsibility of fixing the fare is not dependent on the state or the central government, it is dependent primarily on the fare fixation committee, which is constituted at the instance of the state government’s request.
“There are not one but ten letters written by the state government and MDs of BMRCL requesting the central government to constitute a fare fixation committee, it is on the state government’s request the committee was constituted. Today you (state) are blaming the central government, but not accepting accountability for what is primarily your duty and your fault,” he said.
Questioning, if the central government is the authority which will hike the metro fare across the country, then why is it that metro prices have not increased in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, commensurate to the increase that has taken place in Bengaluru, Surya said, “If it were a political conspiracy like how the Congress is trying to portray it to be, why there is no hike in cities, of the states that face election, like Chennai and Kolkata?” Saying that if the centre intended to bring bad name to state governments, they would have increased metro fare in Kolkata and Chennai, he accused the state government of “blatant lying”. PTI KSU ADB
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