Seven months after Bengaluru Metro Rail Company Restricted (BMRCL) shocked commuters with an almost 105 per cent fare hike, the long-awaited Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) report has uncovered a damning fact: the company carried out will increase far steeper than what was really really useful by the statutory physique it claimed to be following.
The report got here to gentle on Thursday, following the Karnataka Excessive Court docket’s intervention and sustained public stress.
The controversy started with BMRCL’s justification for the February 2025 fare hike. The company introduced alarming price escalation figures to assist its demand for a 105 per cent fare improve throughout all classes. They claimed employees prices had risen by 42 per cent, power prices by 34 per cent, and upkeep and administration prices by a staggering 366 per cent. These figures painted an image of an organisation drowning in escalating bills, seemingly justifying the dramatic fare will increase that adopted.
Nevertheless, a better examination of the particular knowledge revealed within the FFC report tells a special story. From 2017-18 to 2023-24, BMRCL’s actual operational and upkeep price per route kilometre elevated from Rs 6.22 to Rs 8.68 — an increase of simply 39.6 per cent, not the claimed 105 per cent. The discrepancy arose from BMRCL’s methodology. As a substitute of utilizing simple cost-per-kilometre calculations, the company employed a weighted index system that successfully double-counted prices whereas ignoring the numerous route growth from 42.3 km to 70.7 km throughout the identical interval.
The Fare Fixation Committee, tasked with offering an unbiased evaluation, noticed by way of BMRCL’s inflated projections. The panel’s suggestions had been markedly totally different from what the company had demanded. For journeys as much as 2 kilometres, the FFC really useful conserving fares unchanged at Rs 10, whereas BMRCL had proposed elevating them to Rs 21. For medium-distance journeys of 6-8 kilometres, the place the previous fare was Rs 23.50, BMRCL wished to cost Ra 48, however the FFC authorised solely Rs 40. The disparity was much more pronounced for longer journeys above 25 kilometers, the place BMRCL sought to greater than double fares from Rs 60 to Rs 123, whereas the FFC really useful a extra modest improve to Rs 80 or Rs 90, relying on the space.
FFC really useful an general 51.55 per cent improve to account for over 7.5 years of fixed fares since 2017, translating to roughly 6.9 per cent yearly, in comparison with BMRCL’s demand for an annual 14 per cent. The committee additionally rationalised the fare construction from 12 slabs to 10 for higher readability, and proposed extra measures like Sunday reductions and vacation concessions to make the Metro extra accessible to common commuters.
Regardless of the FFC’s reasonable suggestions, BMRCL initially carried out a 130 per cent hike in February 2025, stunning day by day commuters who out of the blue discovered their journey prices greater than doubled in a single day. The transfer sparked speedy public outrage and protests throughout Bengaluru.
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‘Delay in making FFC report public exposes extra faultlines’: Tejasvi Surya
In the meantime, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, who had moved the Excessive Court docket within the matter, acknowledged on Friday that the timeline of delay in making the FFC report public exposes additional fault traces.
BMRCL sought authorities approval to launch the report on June 26, 2025, and the City Improvement Division granted approval on July 16, 2025. But the company delayed launch for one more two months, lastly publishing the report in September 11, coincidentally sooner or later earlier than a scheduled Excessive Court docket listening to on the matter.
“Regardless of calls for for the discharge of the FFC Report, BMRCL failed to take action, compelling me to strategy the Hon’ble Excessive Court docket,” Surya acknowledged on X. “Conveniently, a day earlier than the Hon’ble Excessive Court docket was set to listen to my Writ Petition and seven months after the steep pretend hike, BMRCL has printed the FFC report on their web site,” Surya famous.
“In its objections earlier than the Hon’ble Excessive Court docket, BMRCL had categorically acknowledged that it obtained approval of GoK on July 16 for releasing the report. But, it took them virtually two months to add it. One can solely think about the pace at which this establishment is functioning in all spheres,” Surya added.
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Satya Arikutharam, an city mobility knowledgeable, mentioned, “The precise working price per kilometre for Namma Metro has risen solely 40 per cent since 2017. But BMRCL inflated this to 105 % and sought to double fares. The FFC lower it right down to a 51% common hike, however for many commuters, like an 8 km journey, the rise continues to be over 70%. In actuality, Bengalureans are paying an hike of virtually twice as a lot right this moment to cowl BMRCL’s delays and inefficiencies.”