Amid backlash, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah asks BMRCL to rationalise Namma Metro’s ‘abnormal’ fare hike

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday directed the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to reduce the metro rail fare citing the hike was “abnormal” in certain sections. 

“The Way BMRCL has implemented the Metro fare revision has led to anomalies, with fares more than double in certain sections. I have asked the MD of BMRCL to urgently address these issues and reduce the fare wherever the increase is abnormal,” said Siddaramaiah, who admitted that there was a backlash from the citizens over the hike. 

Stating that the revision of fare was inevitable given that Namma Metro is a public transport system needing huge investment, the chief minister added that it was also the government’s duty to safeguard the interests of the commuters. 

Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya said he had apprised the minister and secretary of the housing and urban affairs ministry over the difficulties faced by the commuters due to the fare hike and suggested that the chief minister should write to the Centre asking for a new fare fixation committee through the BMRCL to get the fare revision or reduced. 

The current fare hike was based on the recommendations of the fare fixation committee, which submitted its report on December 16, 2024. The three-member committee, led by Justice R. Tharani, a retired judge of the Madras High Court; Satyendra Pal Singh, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; and E.V. Ramana Reddy, the former additional chief secretary of Karnataka; studied metro systems in India and other global cities before proposing a revision of tariff to balance the affordability and the financial sustainability. 

BMRCL had justified the hike claiming it needed to repay debts, cover depreciation of ageing assets and manage the rising operational costs (staff, energy, operation and maintenance). The Corporation is required to repay a loan of Rs 10.42 crore over the next six years (2024-2030), when the depreciation cost is likely to touch Rs 7,316 crore. BMRCL had sought a hike of 105 per cent, but the fare fixation committee recommended a lower hike of 51.5 pc considering the affordability.

Incidentally, the sudden and steep hike in ‘Namma Metro’ rail fares has impacted the ridership. Two days after the revised fare, the number of passengers declined to 7.8 lakh on Thursday, against a daily average of 8.6 lakh prior to the hike. 

Amid widespread outrage among commuters over the steep hike in fares, Bengaluru witnessed a political blame game unfold. Both, the opposition BJP and ruling Congress, staged separate protests demanding a rollback, even as confusion prevailed over who should provide a remedy, as the Metro rail is a 50:50 cost-sharing project between the Centre and the state government.

Earlier, the chief minister had slammed the BJP leaders saying the BJP took credit for Bengaluru Metro's expansion as Centre's achievement, but was shifting the blame onto the Karnataka government for the fare hike. 

“BMRCL is a joint venture between the Union and Karnataka government, with equal (50:50) partnership. The current chairman of BMRCL is Srinivas Katikithala, who is also the Union secretary for Housing and Urban Affairs. Both Union and State government officials are on the BMRCL board and as BMRCL is an autonomous body, the state government does not have full control over its decisions. Like all other metro corporations in the country, BMRCL operates under the Metro Railways (Operations and Maintenance) Act, 2002, which is controlled by the Union government. Since 2017, metro fares have not been revised, and BMRCL wrote to the Centre seeking a revision. Accordingly, the Centre constituted a Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) under Justice R. Tharani, retired judge of Madras High Court on September 16, 2024, with a three-month deadline. The committee submitted its report on December 16, 2024,” said the CM in a social media post. 

“As per Section 37 of the Metro Railways (Operations and Maintenance) Act, metro corporations (in this case, BMRCL) are legally bound to implement the fare recommendations made by this committee. When BMRCL last revised fares in June 2017, Phase 1 (42.3 km) was completed. Now, Phase 2 is partially completed, and the metro network has expanded beyond 42.3 km. By December 2026, Metro lines 2, 2A, and 2B (96.6 km) will be completed, expanding Bengaluru Metro to 175.55 km,” added CM.