Fare hike, which came into force on February 9, was the first revision in more than seven years and since then Namma has made the metro the most expensive system of metro transit in India among the capital cities. | Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar
The RIT to Information has revealed that the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) spent 12.97 GBP Lakh on a six -day foreign tour in Singapore and Hong Kong for the Fixation Committee for Tarif (FFC) and officials of up to 71%. However, the response of the RTI sent by FFC said that the committee was not submitted to any separate storytelling message about details or recommendations that would cause concern about transparency and public responsibility.
Fare hike, which came into force on February 9, was the first revision in more than seven years and since then Namma has made the most expensive metro transit system in India between the capital cities. The maximum fare increased by 50%-Z 60 to 90 GBP, while other hikes in the stage saw that in some cases it was close to 100%, which was later limited to 71%after commuting and opposition protests.
According to Madhan Reddy, the inhabitants of the city, and the Metro’s daily commuting, the three-member FFC-registered Government of the Union on 7 September 2024 and headed by justice (Retd.) R. Thani-traveled to Singapore (November 27). They also visited Metro Delhi and Chennai Metro for home comparison.
The message is not shared
Part of the foreign visit were two members of the committee together with three BMRCL officials. The RTI response said that on a foreign study tour was spent on 12.97 GBP, but no division of expenditure created by BMRCL officials was shared. The answer merely stated that it is “according to claims”.
When Mr. Reddy asked for a copy of any message or finding on the way, the answer BMRCL said: “There is no separate message after travel. The information collected during the study tour was included in their message.”
However, the FFC report itself was not publicly shared, despite repeated commuters, activists and even elected representatives.
“BMRCL has not only increased tariffs, but also hides key data from the public,” said Mr. Reddy, who shared a copy of the RTI reaction with the Hindu. “Millions of people rely on BMTC and Namma Metro for available travel. Such a sudden, disproportionate hike hurts the working class and poor commuters.
Revision of the fare was based on the report submitted by FFC on 16 December 2024, which was expected to consider operating costs, passenger feedback and expert consultations. However, groups of commuting and civil society groups have repeatedly questioned the basis of an increase and sought access to the report.
Experts raise questions
Separate RTI served by Hindu 12 February at the Ministry of Housing and urban affairs (I can), who was looking for a copy of the FFC report, was transferred to BMRCL – but no answer has been received yet.
FFC is a statutory body that entrusted quasi-supreme powers to recommend feature tariffs in India. The current committee included Satyendra Pal Singh, another secretary in I and Ev Ramana Reddy, officer IAS and former other main secretary of the Karnatak government, in addition to Judge Thani.
Experts say that BMRCL’s unwillingness to publish a FFC report raises questions about motivation for increasing fare and value derived from foreign tours. “The absence of a post-tour report and a lack of public access to the final recommendation undermines the credibility of the entire exercise,” said Hindu expert MN Srihari.
“Public transport should not be operated as a private enterprise. The commuting deserves to know how the decisions concerning their daily lives relate if the report is not published, not just BMRCL, the government is also responsible,” Srihari added.
Published – May 26, 2025 22:10 is
