<p>Bengaluru: A day after the Bengaluru metro revised its fares, a noticeable decline in commuter footfall was observed, particularly at major stations like Majestic.</p><p>Despite the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) offering an additional 5% discount on smart card travel during non-peak hours, both stations and trains appeared emptier than on a typical weekday.</p><p>On Thursday, 7,51,251 commuters used the metro, according to BMRCL data.</p>.<p>Ridership has been steadily falling since Monday (8.28 lakh) to Wednesday (7.62 lakh), compared to over 8.5 lakh daily commuters the previous week.</p><p>Many passengers were aware of the fare hike, but unaware of the revised rates, which took effect on Friday. Some commuters have begun reconsidering metro travel due to increased monthly expenses.</p><p>"My round-trip cost has nearly doubled. I am now considering switching to a two-wheeler or a car," said Sathvik, a regular commuter between Trinity and Mysuru Road.</p>.Fare hike contradicts Metro’s purpose.<p><strong>Sharp increase</strong> </p><p>Even after the revised pricing, some commuters continue to face steep hikes, ranging between 50% and 70%.</p><p>For instance, a commuter traveling between the Kengeri Bus Terminal and Hosahalli noted that their fare jumped from Rs 30 to Rs 60 on February 9 and later dropped to Rs 50 on Friday — still a 66.6% increase.</p>.<p><strong>QR ticket discount</strong> </p><p>The removal of discounts on QR tickets has further impacted daily commuters.</p><p>Mahesh M, a regular commuter from Banashankari to Trinity, shared that his one-way fare increased from Rs 36.1 to Rs 60. Since he purchases QR tickets via WhatsApp, he no longer benefits from the 5% discount.</p>.Section of ORR closed for metro work this weekend .<p><strong>BMRCL’s response</strong></p><p>In response to the public backlash, BMRCL Managing Director M Maheshwar Rao announced on Thursday that the corporation had capped the maximum hike at 71.43%.</p><p>Rao stated that "abnormal fare hikes" were corrected across nearly 600 fare combinations, where prices had jumped between 70% and 100%. However, fare adjustments were not made for routes where increases remained below 70%.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: A day after the Bengaluru metro revised its fares, a noticeable decline in commuter footfall was observed, particularly at major stations like Majestic.</p><p>Despite the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) offering an additional 5% discount on smart card travel during non-peak hours, both stations and trains appeared emptier than on a typical weekday.</p><p>On Thursday, 7,51,251 commuters used the metro, according to BMRCL data.</p>.<p>Ridership has been steadily falling since Monday (8.28 lakh) to Wednesday (7.62 lakh), compared to over 8.5 lakh daily commuters the previous week.</p><p>Many passengers were aware of the fare hike, but unaware of the revised rates, which took effect on Friday. Some commuters have begun reconsidering metro travel due to increased monthly expenses.</p><p>"My round-trip cost has nearly doubled. I am now considering switching to a two-wheeler or a car," said Sathvik, a regular commuter between Trinity and Mysuru Road.</p>.Fare hike contradicts Metro’s purpose.<p><strong>Sharp increase</strong> </p><p>Even after the revised pricing, some commuters continue to face steep hikes, ranging between 50% and 70%.</p><p>For instance, a commuter traveling between the Kengeri Bus Terminal and Hosahalli noted that their fare jumped from Rs 30 to Rs 60 on February 9 and later dropped to Rs 50 on Friday — still a 66.6% increase.</p>.<p><strong>QR ticket discount</strong> </p><p>The removal of discounts on QR tickets has further impacted daily commuters.</p><p>Mahesh M, a regular commuter from Banashankari to Trinity, shared that his one-way fare increased from Rs 36.1 to Rs 60. Since he purchases QR tickets via WhatsApp, he no longer benefits from the 5% discount.</p>.Section of ORR closed for metro work this weekend .<p><strong>BMRCL’s response</strong></p><p>In response to the public backlash, BMRCL Managing Director M Maheshwar Rao announced on Thursday that the corporation had capped the maximum hike at 71.43%.</p><p>Rao stated that "abnormal fare hikes" were corrected across nearly 600 fare combinations, where prices had jumped between 70% and 100%. However, fare adjustments were not made for routes where increases remained below 70%.</p>