Will Bengaluru Metro travel cost more from today, February 9? State clarifies...

Bengaluru Metro price hike, scheduled to come into effect from 9 February, has been put on hold by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) amid criticism.

In a statement on Sunday, the BMRCL said that the earlier announcement regarding the fare revision would not be implemented until further orders, indicating that a final decision is still pending.

Clarifying its position, BMRCL said, “The media release dated February 5 announcing the implementation of the annual fare revision with effect from February 9 has been kept on hold till further orders.”

The corporation added that the matter would be taken up by its board before any final decision is made. “The decision on the revised fare will be communicated after the board's review.”

Reiterating its service commitment, BMRCL said it continues to prioritise commuters' interests. "BMRCL remains committed to providing safe, reliable, and affordable metro services to the citizens of Bengaluru," it said.

Here's how commuters reacted

Daily commuters were relieved by the state's decision to put a hold on the fare hike, and hoped that the fare would be reduced over the coming days.

“Very good. Now we want the next step to be to gradually reduce the fares to what they were before. Can we look at getting back those days instead?” a social media user said.

Several users also highlighted BMRCL's use of “affordable” to describe the metro service and taunted that it was anything but affordable. Others claimed the BMRCL deferred the price hike following BJP MP Tejasvi Surya's intervention.

This decision coincides with Surya's visit to a Namma Bengaluru metro station on Sunday, where he spoke to commuters to gauge their views on the price hike. Talking to reporters, Surya claimed that the commuters were upset over frequent fare revisions.

He accused Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar of "misleading the public by blaming the Centre" for the hike, while also demanding the constitution of a Fare Fixation Committee (FFC).

On Saturday, Surya said that Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, had instructed officials to put the proposed metro fare hike on hold.

He added that the minister also assured a personal review of anomalies in the FFC and said a fresh committee could be considered if the state government requested it.

Meanwhile, H D Kumaraswamy, Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries, blamed the state government for the metro fare hike, alleging that despite the Centre asking the state government not to implement it, the state was insisting on going ahead with it.

"After increasing metro fares, the state government is passing the buck to the Centre, which is untrue," the JD(S) second-in-command told reporters in Mysuru.

Kumaraswamy further charged that the state government was unwilling to maintain a good working relationship with the Centre for implementing central schemes and policies.