BENGALURU: Experts and the public expressed their concern over the recent Metro fare hike and reiterated the need to withdraw it to promote public transport and reduce traffic congestion in the city. Over 200 people took part in the ‘Citizens Convention against Metro fare hike’ organised by the Bangalore Metro Commuters Association (BMCA) on Sunday.
Prof Ashish Verma of Department of Transportation Systems Engineering, IISc, said three core functions need to be performed by a public transportation system — providing affordability and accessibility, solving traffic congestion problem, and reducing air pollution by cutting down on the usage of private vehicles.
“The fare hike by Metro negates these aspects and impacts the quality of life of Bengalureans,” he said, adding that share of public transport, including walking and cycling, in any city should be almost 80%. “It is the social obligation of the government to provide affordable transport to the public. They have forgotten their core function,” Prof Verma said.
Dr Sudha Kamath, president of Medical Sciences Centre, Karnataka, said that Bengaluru was called the ‘Pensioners Paradise’, but now is plagued by respiratory illness owing to traffic congestion and pollution. “The corporatisation of public transport, similar to the health sector, should not be permitted,” Dr Sudha said.
VN Rajashekhar of Save Bangalore Committee, said that the methodology adopted of adding the infrastructure cost and interest amount when calculating the hike was completely unjustified. “If we adopt this method to effect fare hikes, then by 2029-2030, the loan amount and interest to be paid will touch Rs 2,780 crore. BMRCL would have to earn a daily revenue of Rs 7.8 crore to make up for it as compared to the Rs 3 crore it is targeting presently. Then the fares would have to be hiked abnormally,” he said.
A core committee of BMCA comprising 25 individuals has been formed to take the movement forward, said M N Sriram, adviser, to the committee.
Meghana Verma, Head of the Centre for Sustainability at the Ramaiah Institute of Management and a researcher on Gender Inclusive Mobility, billed the fare hike as “a gross injustice.” People With Disabilities or those in the lower income group hardly use the Metro as they felt the previous fare itself was high, she said based on her research. “By hiking the fare, BMRCL has made it impossible for them to use this mode of public transport,” she added.
M Pavithra, a participant said, “BMRCL should look at other avenues of income like exploiting the space inside stations to rent it out to branded stores. Some stations in Hyderabad Metro remind one of airports where shopping can be done.”