Bengaluru's Namma Metro is set to increase the fares by 40-45 per cent after getting an approval from the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) board on Friday. Earlier this month, a government committee recommended the corporation increase the fare. The metro fare hike will be the first since 2017.
While the corporation has approved the recommendations of the government committee, the government will shortly announce the other important details. It will announce the exact price hike on several routes and when it will come into effect, the Deccan Herald reported, citing several sources. At present, the price range of Namma Metro is Rs 10 to Rs 60.
ALSO READ: Bengaluru Namma Metro Identifies Land For Depot Along Hebbal-Sarjapur Metro Line; Know Details
Though the base or minimum price is not likely to change exponentially, the maximum price is expected to go up to Rs 85. The corporation earlier stated that while the current revenue of the BMRCL on a daily basis is at over Rs 2 crore per day, an additional profit of Rs 80-90 lakh is expected after the price hike.
Though the corporation was planning to increase the prices for a while, it waited for the recommendations by the three-member Fare Fixation Committee under Justice (retired) R Tharani. The price hike is based on the recommendation of this team as they evaluated and analysed multiple factors before coming to the conclusion that a 40-50 per cent hike in the fares will be fair to the corporation and the commuters as well.
Earlier, Bangalore Central MP, PC Mohan, confirmed that the ticket prices will not increase significantly, and the new price will only be applicable to the journeys that exceed the minimum distance. He stated that most of the commuters will not be troubled by the price hike as they usually travel for short distances. Apart from this, the corporation will offer a 5 per cent discount to the passengers during off-peak hours.