<p>Metro rail networks including Delhi have been allowed by the union urban development ministry to carry out periodic revision of fares to offset hike in input costs, including power prices.<br /><br />"We have suggested fare revision to them. It is a part of the mandate. Not only Delhi but every Metro has to periodically increase the fares to be viable," urban development secretary Sudhir Krishna said on Wednesday.<br /><br />The urban development secretary said that the ministry was trying to create a rational and transparent formula for fare revision which would be applicable to all Metro rail networks in the country.<br /><br />"For all Metros we are working out a method to have a transparent fare revision system based on rational parameters which would be appreciated by all," Krishna said. <br /><br />He explained that the new fare revision system would be based on certain parameters like electricity tariff or wage rate in the particular city. “What are the exact components and what are weights allocated to these components, that we are working out. As a formula it would be applicable to all cities, all Metros,” Krishna said.<br /><br />The secretary said that in Karnataka, the state bus transport system had such a formula and when there was an increase in fuel prices, the prices of bus tickets were revised within no time.</p>.<p>Internal team formed</p>.<p>Delhi Metro officials said the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has constituted an internal team to go into the issue of fare revision.<br /><br />Delhi Metro sources said the internal committee on fares will only evolve a general formula for periodic revision and that it will not look into the possibility of any immediate fare hike or revision.<br /><br />Krishna told reporters that efforts were on to integrate the fare collection mechanism for the Delhi metro and the feeder buses through the use of common mobility cards.<br />He said it was hoped that travel by DTC buses would form part of mobility card system in the current financial year itself.<br /><br />Krishna said that efforts were on to address the Delhi government’s objections on allowing setting up of Rapid Regional Transit System (RRTS) line stations in the heart of the city.<br /><br />A ‘dispersal study’ has been conducted to find out the pattern of increase in traffic in the areas where the RRTS stations could be set up, he said.<br /><br />The Delhi government has objected to three RRTS corridors — Delhi-Gurgaon-Alwar, Delhi-Sonepat- Panipat and Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut, to reach the central parts of the city citing traffic congestion. The urban development secretary also said that his ministry has advised the Uttar Pradesh government to set up a company to assist Delhi Metro in its services in Noida and Ghaziabad. <br /></p>
<p>Metro rail networks including Delhi have been allowed by the union urban development ministry to carry out periodic revision of fares to offset hike in input costs, including power prices.<br /><br />"We have suggested fare revision to them. It is a part of the mandate. Not only Delhi but every Metro has to periodically increase the fares to be viable," urban development secretary Sudhir Krishna said on Wednesday.<br /><br />The urban development secretary said that the ministry was trying to create a rational and transparent formula for fare revision which would be applicable to all Metro rail networks in the country.<br /><br />"For all Metros we are working out a method to have a transparent fare revision system based on rational parameters which would be appreciated by all," Krishna said. <br /><br />He explained that the new fare revision system would be based on certain parameters like electricity tariff or wage rate in the particular city. “What are the exact components and what are weights allocated to these components, that we are working out. As a formula it would be applicable to all cities, all Metros,” Krishna said.<br /><br />The secretary said that in Karnataka, the state bus transport system had such a formula and when there was an increase in fuel prices, the prices of bus tickets were revised within no time.</p>.<p>Internal team formed</p>.<p>Delhi Metro officials said the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has constituted an internal team to go into the issue of fare revision.<br /><br />Delhi Metro sources said the internal committee on fares will only evolve a general formula for periodic revision and that it will not look into the possibility of any immediate fare hike or revision.<br /><br />Krishna told reporters that efforts were on to integrate the fare collection mechanism for the Delhi metro and the feeder buses through the use of common mobility cards.<br />He said it was hoped that travel by DTC buses would form part of mobility card system in the current financial year itself.<br /><br />Krishna said that efforts were on to address the Delhi government’s objections on allowing setting up of Rapid Regional Transit System (RRTS) line stations in the heart of the city.<br /><br />A ‘dispersal study’ has been conducted to find out the pattern of increase in traffic in the areas where the RRTS stations could be set up, he said.<br /><br />The Delhi government has objected to three RRTS corridors — Delhi-Gurgaon-Alwar, Delhi-Sonepat- Panipat and Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut, to reach the central parts of the city citing traffic congestion. The urban development secretary also said that his ministry has advised the Uttar Pradesh government to set up a company to assist Delhi Metro in its services in Noida and Ghaziabad. <br /></p>