<p>Commuters will now have to maintain a minimum balance of Rs 50 in their smart cards to enter any Namma Metro station.</p>.<p>The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) on Wednesday announced that it has hiked the minimum balance to be maintained in the smart card from Rs 8 to Rs 50.</p>.<p>This came into effect from Wednesday afternoon, immediately after BMRCL staffers made the announcement at all Metro stations.</p>.<p>BMRCL announced that barricades would not open if the balance was below Rs 50. However, they can utilise money from the card while exiting. But at the next entry, commuters will have to ensure that a minimum of Rs 50 is available in their account.</p>.<p>BMRCL managing director Ajay Seth told <span class="italic">DH</span> that this decision was taken not to burden commuters, but to make commuting easy.</p>.<p>He said the decision was taken after the department found people queuing up at the help desk making inquiries and requesting staffers to recharge their card so that they can exit the station.</p>.<p>Citing a case of Wednesday morning at Baiyapanahalli Metro station, Seth said that the help desk witnessed 200 such cases in one hour. On any given day, at least 50-100 customers queue up at the help desk seeking a recharge to exit the station. He said that people are fairly aware of their travel distance and the cost, and hence they can maintain a balance.</p>.<p>Another BMRCL official explained that they had already started the process of recharging for only Rs 50 when commuters approached the help desk with low balance at the time of exit. This decision is only a follow up to that.</p>.<p>However, this sudden decision has not gone down well with commuters at many stations. They questioned the intention of the BMRCL. Kushalappa, a commuter at Vidhana Soudha Metro station questioned: “What if we have no cash in hand to recharge. The BMRCL should reduce the amount from Rs 50.”</p>.<p>Commuters opposing the move started shouting at Metro staffers at Kuvempu Road Metro station. At Sampige Road Metro station, about 30 commuters held a protest for some time, asking how BMRCL could take such decisions without informing the commuters in advance.</p>
<p>Commuters will now have to maintain a minimum balance of Rs 50 in their smart cards to enter any Namma Metro station.</p>.<p>The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) on Wednesday announced that it has hiked the minimum balance to be maintained in the smart card from Rs 8 to Rs 50.</p>.<p>This came into effect from Wednesday afternoon, immediately after BMRCL staffers made the announcement at all Metro stations.</p>.<p>BMRCL announced that barricades would not open if the balance was below Rs 50. However, they can utilise money from the card while exiting. But at the next entry, commuters will have to ensure that a minimum of Rs 50 is available in their account.</p>.<p>BMRCL managing director Ajay Seth told <span class="italic">DH</span> that this decision was taken not to burden commuters, but to make commuting easy.</p>.<p>He said the decision was taken after the department found people queuing up at the help desk making inquiries and requesting staffers to recharge their card so that they can exit the station.</p>.<p>Citing a case of Wednesday morning at Baiyapanahalli Metro station, Seth said that the help desk witnessed 200 such cases in one hour. On any given day, at least 50-100 customers queue up at the help desk seeking a recharge to exit the station. He said that people are fairly aware of their travel distance and the cost, and hence they can maintain a balance.</p>.<p>Another BMRCL official explained that they had already started the process of recharging for only Rs 50 when commuters approached the help desk with low balance at the time of exit. This decision is only a follow up to that.</p>.<p>However, this sudden decision has not gone down well with commuters at many stations. They questioned the intention of the BMRCL. Kushalappa, a commuter at Vidhana Soudha Metro station questioned: “What if we have no cash in hand to recharge. The BMRCL should reduce the amount from Rs 50.”</p>.<p>Commuters opposing the move started shouting at Metro staffers at Kuvempu Road Metro station. At Sampige Road Metro station, about 30 commuters held a protest for some time, asking how BMRCL could take such decisions without informing the commuters in advance.</p>
