Mumbai metro return journeys: Fares revised without notice, say commuters
Mumbai city news: The discount on the 45-journey passes, was reduced from 50%. Passengers who use this pass will have to shell out either Rs 750, Rs1,050 or Rs1,350, depending on the distance.
The Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) slashed the discount on the return journey fares on Tuesday, leaving passengers fuming. The prices of tokens for return journeys went up by Rs5 to Rs10, while those of passes rose by Rs75 to Rs450.
For regular commuters, Tuesday’s revision came as a shocker as it came without warning.
Tickets that cost between Rs30 and Rs60 will now cost between Rs35 and Rs70.
The discount on the 45-journey passes (valid for 30 days), wasreduced from 50%. Passengers who use this pass will have to shell out either Rs 750, Rs1,050 or Rs1,350, depending on the distance. Previously, they paid between Rs675 and Rs 900.
“If you travelled on a trip pass from the first to the last station on any train, the discount was 50%. This has been reduced by introducing a new distance slab,” said an MMOPL tweet after the fare revision.
It added that the fares were revised after two-and-a-half years, and that too only on return journey tokens and trip passes.
“The discounts are in line with other Metros,” said an MMOPL spokesperson.
Although MMOPL said that the revised fare chart was available on its website, passengers said that the operator had not communicated the revision in advance.
Most commuters said that they came to know about the revision when they reached the metro station.
“When I went to buy a ticket for Ghatkopar from the WEH station, the clerk charged me Rs 55 instead of Rs50 for the return journey, “said Akshay B, a regular Metro commuter.
Anil Galgali, an RTI activist, said, “If the matter is sub-judice, why did the MMOPL revise the fares in a hurry? The company should have given an notice of at least two days.”
A Mumbai Metro spokesperson, however, claimed that there was no hike and that the company had simply “rationalised discounts”.
“The discounts have been rationalised in line with other metros in the country. This is not a fare increase,” he said.