Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) spent ₹26 lakh on international study tours to examine metro fare models before revising Namma Metro fares earlier this year. This information came from an RTI response requested by Moneycontrol.

Out of the ₹26 lakh, ₹12.97 lakh was spent on the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) members and ₹12.88 lakh on BMRCL officials. The committee visited Hong Kong and Singapore for their study.

The FFC, which recommends fare changes, included former Madras High Court judge R Tharani, Satinder Pal Singh (Additional Secretary to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs), and retired IAS officer EV Ramana Reddy. The committee also studied various other metros in the country like Delhi Metro and Chennai Metro.

Based on these studies, BMRCL has come up with a fare hike proposal of 105.15% over 7.5 years, averaging an annual increase of 14.02%. However, the FFC recommended a lower hike of 51.55%, averaging 6.87% annually, which was implemented.

BMRCL refused to release the full FFC report or passenger revenue data. They said boarding data is updated daily on their website but did not share specific revenue details.

After the fare hike, daily ridership dropped from 8.7 lakh to 7 lakh. The situation may worsen due to connectivity issues, especially with the Karnataka High Court’s order to suspend bike taxis in six weeks.

The fare hike faced backlash, leading BMRCL to limit the increase to 71%. They justified the hike by citing rising costs, including a 42% rise in staff costs, a 34% increase in energy costs, and a 366% surge in maintenance costs. They also mentioned a ₹770 crore loan for 2024-25.