Bengaluru Metro Fare Report: Court Orders Government to Share Details with Public

The Karnataka High Court has asked the state government, Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), and the Union government to reply to a legal request. The request asks them to make public an important report that led to Bengaluru’s recent metro fare increase.

The court has given them two weeks to respond.

The request was made by Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya. He said commuters have the right to know why the metro fares were raised earlier this year. The increase made Namma Metro the most expensive metro in India for a short time.

Surya is worried because BMRCL has not shared the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) report, which was given in December 2024. The committee, led by former judge R Tharani, studied how fares are set in metros in India and other countries like Singapore and Hong Kong. They then recommended the fare increase.

BMRCL said it got the report and raised fares on 9 February. The highest fare went up from ₹60 to ₹90. But the report has not been shared with the public. After many people, including elected leaders and passengers, complained, BMRCL partly reduced the fare increase on 14 February. Now, the rise is limited to 71%.

Surya’s lawyer told the court that even after many requests between April and May, BMRCL did not share the report. They said they are waiting for government approval.

The judge, Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav, was worried about the delay. He asked why even a Member of Parliament could not get the report.

Surya criticized BMRCL on social media. He said, “The public deserves to know what is in this report. It should not take the High Court to make this happen.” He asked the metro authority to release the report soon.

Another Bengaluru MP, P C Mohan, agreed. He said, “There should be no need for a court order for transparency. Bengaluru commuters have the right to know how metro fares are decided.”

The request also said that other metros in India, like Mumbai and Hyderabad, make their fare reports public. Surya said BMRCL, as a public group, must be open and not make fare decisions without explaining to the public.

The court will hear this case again in two weeks.