Delhi Metro discounted fares: Recently, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri suggested Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to come up with a mechanism to provide special or discounted fares for students and senior citizens to balance the burden of last year’s hike in metro fare. The minister further said that in order to execute the initiative and to ensure that no one misuse the system, a technology has to be developed. According to the Union Minister, the initiative should not be considered as “populist” and it will be carried out within the framework of the law. The Minister who feels that technology plays a crucial role to curb corruption, said that with the help of technology a solution will be found out, which will ensure that it reaches to the desired section of public and no one else misuses it. However, the minister did not mention any particular time period for the execution of the plan.
At present, DMRC does not provide any kind of discount on metro fares for any section of passengers, commuting from Delhi Metro. DMRC is a 50:50 joint venture between the centre government and the Delhi government. Therefore, on FFC’s (Fare-Fixation Committee) recommendation, the metro fares are revised.
Last year, metro fares were hiked by up to 100 per cent across multiple distance slabs following the two-phase fare hike, which was implemented on FFC’s recommendation, chaired by Justice (Retd) M L Mehta. The committee also has Delhi chief secretary and the additional secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development.
Last year, Delhi Metro lost three lakh commuters per day following the fare hike in October, which led to a tussle between the Central government and Delhi government. According to Puri, the fare hike was not his ministry’s decision. The metro fares were hiked on FCC’s recommendation, as they were not revised for 8-9 years. In order to increase the revenue, the union Minister also suggested some ways, including advertisements and commercial exploitation of the land.
According to an official, there has been a decline in commuters travelling short distances via metro, on the other hand, there has been an increase in number of commuters travelling long distances.