Bengaluru MP questions logic behind Metro fare hike after RTI reveals ₹26 lakh spent on foreign tours

Bengaluru MP PC Mohan questions the Metro fare hike after an RTI revealed ₹26 lakh spent on foreign tours for fare model studies.

Published on: Apr 5, 2025, 09:53:47 IST

By HT News Desk

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Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan has raised questions over the rationale behind the city’s new Metro fare structure after an RTI reply revealed that Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) spent over ₹26 lakh on foreign study tours before implementing the hike.

Bengaluru Metro has recently announced fare hike, making the ride expensive for commuters. (X/@bykarthikreddy)

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According to details obtained by Moneycontrol through a Right to Information (RTI) query, BMRCL officials and members of the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) visited Hong Kong and Singapore to study international fare models. The total expenditure came to ₹25.85 lakh — ₹12.97 lakh was spent on FFC members and ₹12.88 lakh on BMRCL officials.

The fare hikes, which came into effect recently, saw Metro ticket prices rise by as much as 71 percent on certain routes, drawing criticism from commuters and public representatives alike.

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PC Mohan took to social media to highlight a glaring inconsistency in the revised fare chart: a journey from Cubbon Park to Baiyyappanahalli now costs ₹28, while a trip from Vidhana Soudha—just one stop before Cubbon Park on the same Purple Line—costs ₹38. “Turns out, logic didn’t make the return trip,” the MP quipped on X (formerly Twitter), taking a swipe at what he called a logic-defying fare structure.

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The disparity in fares between adjacent stations has sparked fresh debate about the transparency and methodology behind the pricing model adopted by BMRCL. The corporation has not yet publicly explained the specific rationale behind such inconsistencies in pricing, despite having studied globally reputed transit systems.

While BMRCL maintains that fare revisions are essential to meet operational and expansion costs, the RTI revelation and subsequent criticism may intensify calls for a review or clarification of the fare slab system.

The Purple Line, which runs from Challaghatta in the southwest to Whitefield (Kadugodi) in the east, is among the busiest stretches of the Namma Metro network. Fare irregularities on such a high-footfall corridor are likely to further draw public scrutiny.

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