- By Aditya Jha
- Sun, 30 Mar 2025 10:05 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Bengaluru News: Amid several social media posts criticising the Namma Metro fare hike, a Bengaluru man expressed his frustration on Sunday by claiming that driving a personal vehicle is cheaper and better than using Namma Metro trains. In a post on Reddit, he explained that the overall cost of traveling between two points in the city is costlier than the fuel price, adding that an individual does not have to take stairs or stand while traveling in the case of a personal vehicle.
"I had to go to JP Nagar from Chikkabidarakallu. The journey cost me- Auto from home to metro station- Rs 70, Metro from Chikkabidarakallu to RV Road- Rs 80, Walk from RV Road to destination- Rs 0 (but took 13 minutes), Return Walk- 13 minutes, Return Metro- Rs 80, Return last mile- Rs 70, total- Rs 300" the social media stated in his post. "If I had driven to the destination from home, my cost would have been Rs 250 with no walking, no climbing and descending stairs, no waiting for cabs," the man stated.
"All in all, driving your own car is saving time and money. This should not be the case with public transport, especially in populated urban centers like Bengaluru," he concluded. The post immediately went viral, getting 186 likes and 33 comments. While reacting to his post, several netizens agreed by adding their own experiences.
"We are seriously lacking last mile connectivity in the city, everyone is encouraging to use public transportation but no one talks about the crowd and discomfort. Our buses (especially the low floor ones) are not really comfortable, people over 45 years of age with joint pains and stuff struggle to catch a seat in these buses and not to ignore the sudden breaks and narrow aisles," one of the users stated.
However, some of the netizens also pointed out that fuel is not the only expense involved in traveling in personal vehicles. "When considering cost of driving, one must also calculate the aging of the vehicle. Maintenance, kms added. Petrol is just one aspect," one of the social media users stated.
"Time saved is another factor. That distance by two wheeler can easily take 1-2 hours sometime. And you can't do anything during that time. Whereas in metro you can read, sleep, chill," he added. Several reports have suggested that there is a decline in the number of users of the metro trains in Bengaluru.
