Bengaluru Metro Fare Crisis: Calls for Urgent Reassessment

Tejasvi Surya, BJP MP, urges Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah to reform the Metro Rail Fare Fixation Committee due to anomalies causing commuter expense increases. He cited a 50% fare hike, incorrect calculations, and proposes halting automatic fare hikes, advocating for a revised fare structure in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya has called on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to urgently reconstitute the state's Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) for the Metro Rail. He highlighted significant anomalies in the latest fare revisions, which he argues have imposed substantial financial burdens on daily commuters.

In addition to his appeal to the Chief Minister, Surya reached out to Union Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, as well as BMRCL Managing Director J Ravishankar to address these concerns. The 2025 FFC's recommendations, under the Metro Railway Operations and Maintenance Act, 2002, led to an average 50% fare increase, raising the maximum fare from Rs 260 to Rs 290, thus making Bengaluru Metro the costliest in India, he said.

Surya criticized the use of the 2016 DMRC Fare Fixation Committee's formula for the revision, which also included an automatic annual fare increase of up to 5%. Critics say that errors in choosing the base year for calculations have led to overcharges. Surya urged the government to establish a new FFC to rectify these discrepancies and pause the scheduled fare hikes until a fair structure is confirmed.

(With inputs from agencies.)