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Many commuters, activists, and civic groups have strongly opposed the proposed 5% fare increase for Namma Metro expected next month. They say the metro is a basic necessity for Bengaluru and not a luxury. Calling the move "daylight robbery," Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya demanded that a new committee be
formed to review metro fares. He pointed out that after the 2025 fare revision, Namma Metro has already become the most expensive metro service in India, with the maximum ticket price rising from ₹60 to ₹90.
Namma Metro's Fare Hike Argument
In a post on X, Surya said the 2025 fare hike was unfair and unnecessary. He blamed BMRCL for using a faulty method to calculate operation and maintenance costs. According to him, he has written several letters and held meetings with BMRCL officials, but commuters are still being charged high fares.
Bengaluru MPs ' Take
Surya also wrote to Union Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, and BMRCL Managing Director J Ravishankar. He raised concerns about the fare revision suggested by the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC), which was formed under the Metro Railway Operations and Maintenance Act, 2002, and came into force in February 2025.
He explained that the proposed 5% hike comes from an FFC recommendation that allows an automatic annual fare increase of up to 5% to meet expenses. Surya warned that this would place more pressure on daily commuters. He claimed that a close review of the FFC report showed several calculation errors, mainly because it used 2016-17 as the base year instead of a more recent one.
Demand for a New Fare Fixation Committee
Surya said BMRCL has ignored these issues despite repeated complaints. He has now asked the Chief Minister to form a new Fare Fixation Committee to correct the mistakes and make fares more reasonable.
Civic groups have also reacted strongly. The Save Bangalore Committee and the Bengaluru Metro Passengers' Association stated the hike would hurt public trust and unfairly burden regular commuters. They noted that with rising living costs and a huge fare increase already imposed last year, another hike would add to people's financial stress.
