Bengaluru: Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya Friday came down heavily on BMRCL over the proposal for a 5% Metro fare hike and urged Union urban affairs minister Manohar Lal Khattar to reconstitute the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC).“The proposed increase of Bengaluru Metro fares from Feb is unacceptable and needs to be put on hold immediately,” he said, adding: “Until the anomalies of fare fixation are addressed and ticket prices rationalised, Metro fares should not be increased further.”According to commuters, the proposed hike will come at a time when they are grappling with persistent inflation and economic strain. “It will be a betrayal of the public trust and will penalise daily commuters for the administration’s own failure to mobilise funds from other sources to meet the operating costs,” said G Shashi Kumar from civic group Save Bangalore Committee (SBC).BMRCL had hiked the fares by a whopping 71% on Feb 9 last year as per FFC’s recommendations. With the rise, Namma Metro became the most expensive urban railway system in the country, with maximum fares reaching Rs 90.Additionally, the committee recommended revising fares by 5% annually through an “automatic fare revision formula”.“There is no legal mandate that BMRCL should implement all recommendations of the committee. Commuters are demanding a written statement from them that such a move won’t be implemented. We’ll take to the streets if there’s a hike again,” said Rajesh Bhat, representing Bengaluru Metro Commuters’ Association (BMCA).Commuters believe another hike would take away one of the safest commuting options from them. “A lot of women like me in the city are able to travel comfortably to work or wherever we want because of Metro. Most of the roads are poorly managed, and travelling on roads is much slower, whereas Metro is a fast and safe option,” said Shoba S, a commuter.Trade activist Sajjan Raj Mehta argued a fare hike will inevitably push commuters back to congested roads, worsening traffic and pollution, and defeating the very purpose for which Metro has been built.While this debate continues and Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) polls are expected in a few months, BMRCL has not yet decided on going ahead with the potential fare revision.MSID:: 126548059 413 |
