Bengaluru: The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) is unlikely to reconsider the Namma Metro fare revision introduced on February 9, despite mounting criticism over alleged inconsistencies in the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) report released last September.
Citizens’ groups, commuters, and Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya have flagged discrepancies, accusing BMRCL of implementing an “illogical” 105% fare hike that does not align with the committee’s recommendations.
Concerns over fare calculation and formula
Independent urban mobility expert Satya Arikutharam highlighted several flaws in the report, including the inappropriate adoption of Delhi Metro’s fare formula, use of an incorrect base year, and inflated route length for operational cost calculations. He also pointed out that BMRCL allegedly misapplied some of the FFC’s key recommendations, leading to higher-than-justified fare increases.
Tejasvi Surya, who took up the issue on social media platform X, urged BMRCL to clarify the basis for the hike and align the fare slabs with the FFC’s actual findings.
BMRCL defends its decision
In its clarification, BMRCL said the 105.2% figure cited in the FFC report has been “misinterpreted.” According to the corporation, that number represents the movement of a composite cost index—a measure of cumulative operational cost changes since 2017—excluding interest, depreciation, staff, and energy expenses.
“While the index showed a 105.2% rise in operational costs, the FFC’s actual fare recommendations across ten slabs ranged from 0% to 81.8%, averaging 51.6%, before considering peak-hour and off-peak smart-card discounts,” the statement said.
BMRCL added that it had moderated the fare structure further, capping the maximum station-to-station increase at 71.4% after testing more than 600 fare permutations for equity and balance.
Data-driven justification
According to the corporation, of the 4,624 fare matrix entries, about 70% saw increases between 30% and 60%, 7.6% went up to 71.4%, while 3% were reduced. It also clarified that the 366% figure mentioned in the FFC table referred to a weighted index movement in maintenance and administrative costs over 7.5 years — not an annual increase.
Following the revision, BMRCL said it rolled out smart-card concessions, off-peak discounts, and holiday fare reductions to soften the impact on passengers. While ridership temporarily dipped after the revision, it rebounded following the commissioning of the Yellow Line.
Public reaction
Commuter forums and transport activists, however, continue to press for a review, arguing that BMRCL’s justification fails to address affordability concerns, especially for daily wage earners and office commuters. Many have demanded a fresh, independent review of the fare structure before future expansions of the Metro network.