Bengaluru Metro’s revised fares have sparked a fresh political backlash, with Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya writing to Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, requesting a new Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) and urging that the latest fare revision be put on hold. Surya has stated that the fare calculations used by Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) have errors in them and are leading to commuters being overcharged, as per a report by The Indian Express.
What is Surya’s main demand?
In his letter, Surya mentioned that the 2025 Fare Fixation Committee for Bengaluru Metro, constituted under Section 34 of the Metro Railway Operations and Maintenance Act, 2002, recommended a revision effective 09.02.2025. He further added that the revision, stated to be based on the 2016 DMRC Fare Fixation Committee formula, resulted in an average fare hike of about 50% and increased the maximum fare from Rs 50 to Rs 90. He said that the increase made the Bengaluru Metro the most expensive in the country.
Surya also blamed that a review of the FFC report indicated multiple arithmetic errors, mainly because of the selection of the wrong base year (2016-17) for commuting operating costs. He said that it deviated from the standard methodology. As per Surya, despite these issues being flagged repeatedly, BMRCL has not rectified the anomalies, and commuters continue to bear the brunt.
Are Bengaluru metro fare hikes actually put on hold?
The Bengaluru metro fare hike has been requested to be put on hold by Surya to the Union government. The Indian Express report mentions his demand to pause the hike until fares are rationalised through a fresh committee process.
BMRCL announcement on the annual revision of metro fare
BMRCL mentioned that the latest move is an Annual Automatic Fare Revision related to the First Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) recommendation under the Metro Act. The committee mentioned that they are revising fares after 7.5 years and optimising fares zones from 29 to 10 led to an average raise of 51.55% and therefore recommended a transparent annual revision mechanism to avoid steep and unusual fare hikes.
In its press note, BMRC mentioned, “An Annual Automation Fare Revision will be imposed with effect from 9 February 2026…” and that the marginal raise ranges from Rs 1 to Rs 5 across 10 fare zones on its 96.10 km network.”
The index indicated a 10.20% cost hike based on audited financial data comparisons; the revision has been restricted to 5% in line with FFC rules. BMRCL mentioned that it will continue existing smart card/NMC discounts. Five percent during peak hours, 10% on Sundays, 10% during non-peak hours and on three national holidays. The same 5% annual increase principle will be applied to tourist cards/group tickets.