The Bengaluru Metro Rail Company Restricted (BMRCL) broke its silence on the fare fixation committee (FFC) report, with the BMRCL managing director confirming to The Indian Specific on Thursday that the report can be made public quickly.
Maheshwara Rao, Managing Director, BMRCL, nevertheless, averted questions over the delay in publishing the report and didn’t make clear when the report could be revealed.
The fare fixation committee that hiked Bengaluru metro fares comprised Justice (Retd) R Tharani, former choose of the Madras Excessive Court docket, together with Satyendra Pal Singh, Further Secretary, Union Ministry of Housing and City Affairs, and E V Ramana Reddy, retired IAS officer and former further chief secretary to the Authorities of Karnataka.
Rao’s response got here after parliamentarians, together with P C Mohan and Tejasvi Surya, repeatedly requested that the report be made public. Earlier, BMRCL had declined to submit the fare fixation report beneath the Proper to Info Act.
Surya despatched a second letter to Rao on Thursday on the problem. He had earlier written on the matter on April 28. Within the letter, he said, “Within the wake of the steep hike within the metro fares, public curiosity calls for that the FFC report be made accessible instantly to make sure transparency and accountability. Regardless of the passage of appreciable time and my formal request virtually 10 days in the past, the report has neither been revealed on the BMRCL web site nor made accessible by way of any official channel. This delay stands in sharp distinction to the practices adopted by different metro organisations and goes in opposition to the curiosity of openness and knowledgeable discourse.”
He added, “I as soon as once more urge you to promptly launch the FFC report in full, with out additional delay. Transparency in public service supply is important for constructing belief and credibility, particularly when fare selections immediately affect lakhs of each day commuters.”
The FFC was constituted in 2024 following a request from BMRCL to the Union Authorities for a fare revision, as metro fares had not been revised since 2017. The Union Authorities directed the committee to start performing on September 16, 2024, with a three-month deadline to submit suggestions.
Story continues beneath this advert
The committee studied fare revision buildings of different metro techniques by visiting Singapore and Hong Kong, with FFC and BMRCL officers incurring bills of roughly Rs 12.97 lakh and Rs 12.88 lakh, respectively, for these overseas excursions. The FFC visited the nationwide capital, given Delhi Metro’s standing as a number one metro system in India. The committee additionally consulted with Chennai Metro authorities.
The committee beneficial a median fare enhance of 46 per cent (after a 5 per cent low cost for good card customers), although BMRCL had requested a 105.15 per cent hike, equal to a 14.02 per cent year-on-year enhance. The FFC’s suggestion translated to a 6.87 per cent year-on-year enhance. Because of this, the utmost fare elevated from Rs 60 to Rs 90 for distances exceeding 25 km, making it the most expensive metro in India.
Following public backlash and a directive from Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on February 13 this 12 months, BMRCL capped the utmost stage-wise fare enhance at 71 per cent (down from 105.15 per cent for sure slabs). The revised fares took impact on February 14, addressing anomalies the place fares had doubled for brief distances.
BMRCL cited a 42 per cent enhance in employees salaries, a 366 per cent rise in upkeep and administration prices, and a 34 per cent enhance in electrical energy payments from 2017 to March 2024. Safety prices alone quantity to Rs 7 crore per thirty days (14 per cent of the Rs 50 crore month-to-month operational price). BMRCL additionally faces vital mortgage compensation commitments, with Rs 770.60 crore (together with Rs 647.66 crore in loans and Rs 122.94 crore in curiosity) due in 2024-25, projected to rise to Rs 2,776.58 crore by 2029-30.
Story continues beneath this advert
The fare hike additionally led to a 4 per cent drop in ridership (from 8.6 lakh to eight.29 lakh on February 10, 2025). By the tip of February, BMRCL recorded a ridership of two.09 crore, a 40 lakh drop from January’s 2.49 crore.