Bengaluru (Karnataka): The steep Metro fare hike implemented in February 2025—which has triggered widespread criticism from commuters and opposition leaders—was the result of a “mistake in calculation”, according to independent mobility expert Satya Arikutharam.

Expert flags major discrepancy in fare calculation

Arikutharam, after examining the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) Report made public following protests, said the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) erroneously sought a 105% fare increase, when the correct figure should have been 55.75%.

“What they (BMRCL) should have done is take the actual change in operating cost per kilometre, which has gone up by 39.6%, and then consider that in the fare hike,” he explained.

Instead, the corporation relied on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for energy and staff costs, and historic data for maintenance and administration. “When you already have the historic data for energy and staff costs, there was no need to use the CPI,” he added.

The miscalculation

Arikutharam highlighted a key error in the BMRCL’s assessment of maintenance and administration costs.

“In 2017, the cost per kilometre was actually ₹0.81 crore as per their own data, but they miscalculated it as ₹0.38 crore. Due to this, when they compared 2017 and 2024, they showed an increase of 366%. In reality, it should have been only 118.5%,” he said.

This mistake, he argued, inflated the fare hike demand to 105%, while the corrected calculation shows a justified rise of only 55.75%—still higher than the 40% actual increase in costs since 2017.

Calls for rollback

Arikutharam has urged the BMRCL to immediately roll back the fare hike, limiting it to 40% across all fare slabs, and to implement annual revisions in line with the FFC Report.

He also called on the Karnataka government to scrap the Tunnel Road project and instead prioritise the completion of the Yellow, Blue and Pink metro lines and the suburban rail network.

“The focus must be to quickly realise the full revenue potential of the expanding Metro network,” he said.