‘Metro fare almost double on our routes after hike’: Commuters

BENGALURU: The first day of the hiked Metro fares saw frustrated commuters, with many vowing that they would avoid using the service henceforth. The requirement of maintaining a minimum balance of Rs 90 on travel cards also drew criticism.

Sreejith S Pai, a Metro commuter who works as senior manager at Oracle, expressed concern over the implementation of the fare hikes. He told TNIE, “Previously, fare stages were Rs 10, 15, 18, 20, 23, 25, 30, 35, and so on. Now, the fare stages are Rs 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and so on. The fare structure should have remained as it was, based on the actual distance, rather than grouping the distances into ranges like 0-2 km, 2-4 km, 4-6 km,” he explained.

Pai, who regularly takes the Metro from Whitefield (Kadugodi) to KR Pura, and then takes a Metro feeder bus to Kadubeesanahalli pointed out how his fare doubled from Rs 33.25 to Rs 60. “It will cost around Rs 50 every day from now on. Although BMRCL claims an average 45% hike, fares have increased from 70% to 110%,” he added.

Piyush Sharma, an IT professional, stated that he would no longer use the Metro. “I take the Metro during the weekends, when I go to meet my friends. I usually park my bicycle at Satya Sai station but on Sunday, I was barred from parking, forcing me to return home and walk to the Pattandur Agrahara station. I went up to Baiyappanahalli and my fare was Rs 60.

It used to be Rs 38 earlier. The fare hike will affect the middle class the most,” he said and added that he had a tough time walking on the broken footpaths at Pattandur. “Given the high fares and these inconveniences, it is simply not worth travelling by Metro anymore,” he said.

Blogger Niranjana also voiced frustration on X, saying “Maintaining a Rs 90 minimum balance is a joke. It’s becoming too expensive to travel by Metro. This isn’t feasible for the common man.” Besides, many commuters demanded to know why BMRCL had hiked the minimum balance.

A Metro official explained that the Rs 90 minimum balance is necessary because the new maximum fare is Rs 90. “This ensures commuters don’t have to top up their card while exiting, which could cause crowding,” he explained.

We are still way cheaper than autos, taxis in Bengaluru: BMRCL

Bengaluru Metro officials pointed out that even with the hike, it remained cheaper than autos or taxis for commuting in Bengaluru. Releasing a detailed chart, it pointed out that for a 2 km distance, Metro travel costs only Rs 10, while the same distance by auto is Rs 30 and taxi Rs 100. For a distance of 25-30 km, Metro now charges Rs 90, while the auto fare comes to Rs 390 to Rs 450 while taxis charge between Rs 676 and Rs 748, it said. The minimum distance fare in a BMTC AC bus came to Rs 15, while it charged Rs 50 for over 25 km. The non-AC bus fare is the cheapest with the minimum fare at Rs 6 and Rs 30 for over 26 km.