In February, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) raised Namma Metro fares steeply by up to 71%, making it the costliest metro system in India.
The fare hike, approved based on the fare fixation committee’s (FFC) recommendations, set the base fare at ₹10 and the maximum at ₹90.
The FFC also suggested that Metro fares be automatically revised every year using a formula to ensure financial stability.
Annual Metro Fare Revisions Proposed to Safeguard Financial Stability
Until the next FFC is constituted, the committee advised that fares be increased annually by 5%. If BMRCL accepts this, the next hike would be in February 2026.
For seven months, BMRCL refused to make the FFC report public, even rejecting RTI applications, until the matter reached the high court.
On Thursday, BMRCL finally released the report, which revealed that it had originally sought a 105% fare hike, equivalent to a 14.02% annual increase over 7.5 years, proposing a base fare of ₹21 and a maximum of ₹123.
In its submission to the FFC, BMRCL said it had been incurring losses for consecutive years, and without fare hikes, the growing principal and interest payments would create major financial challenges.
BMRCL’s financial records showed losses of ₹641 crore in 2019–20, which increased to ₹905 crore in 2020–21 due to the pandemic, before reducing to ₹627 crore in 2023–24.
The corporation needs ₹775 crore to meet projected principal and interest payments in 2025–26, a figure expected to rise sharply to ₹2,776 crore by 2029–30.
The last fare revision before 2025 had taken place in 2017, meaning fares had remained unchanged for 7.5 years despite rising operational expenses.
The FFC cited rising costs of energy, staff salaries, maintenance, and financial liabilities to justify recommending a 51.5% fare hike, which translates to an average annual increase of 6.87%.
The report further recommended that future FFCs should be constituted every three years instead of waiting for long gaps like the 7.5-year interval this time.
Public consultation on the fare revision was conducted in October 2024, where the FFC received 843 email responses and 283 via WhatsApp, totaling 1,126 suggestions.
Analysis of the feedback showed that 27% of commuters supported a reasonable fare hike, while 51% opposed any increase at all.
Some suggestions included introducing monthly and student passes, offering free travel on Sundays and holidays, and enhancing operational aspects like train frequency, seating facilities at stations, and timely project completion.
Specific Public Demands and FFC Response
Specific public demands and the FFC’s responses included:
- A 20% discount during non-peak hours: the FFC considered only 5%.
- Removal of the minimum balance requirement in smart cards: rejected, as commuters may enter without sufficient funds to exit.
- Reduced fares for senior citizens and disabled persons: deemed unfeasible due to the need for costly technology upgrades.
- Introduction of monthly passes: not recommended.
- Fare parity with ordinary buses: rejected, since metro services differ in quality.
- Family or group concessional tickets using Aadhaar: already exists for groups of at least 25 people.
- Free family travel on Sundays and national holidays: instead, the FFC proposed additional discounts on these days.
