The government may not increase Metro fares till 2020. Contrary to the Fare Fixation Committee's (FFC) recommendations, the government may decide against increasing the fare in 2019 as the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's (DMRC) earnings per kilometre have gone up by 74 per cent since 2014. The DMRC has also been able to meet the target for the last fiscal year.
Union Minister of Housing and Urban affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, during inauguration of the Durgabai Deskhmukh South Campus-Lajpat Nagar section of the Delhi Metro's Pink Line, said that fare hike might not be required next year as the overall revenue of the DMRC was going up along with an increase in ridership, reported Hindustan Times.
The report mentions an RTI reply, which explains that the Delhi Metro's ridership went down considerably after the DMRC doubled fares after a gap of 12 years in 2017. During the last year's hike, the FFC, however, had suggested that the Metro fares should be reviewed automatically every year.
Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday that with the expansion of the Metro network in the Delhi-NCR region, the ridership had seen a surge. Considering the trend, the ridership could further increase to 39 lakh daily passengers from the current number of 28 lakh. "This is a conservative figure, and I am sure we will see the ridership reach beyond 45 lakh passengers per day by 2019," Puri told the newspaper.
Puri had recently informed the Rajya Sabha that the DMRC's revenue had gone up by 74 per cent in the last four years. He said the DMRC earned Rs 7,533.21 crore since 2014 -- 50 per cent increased in the revenue was recorded since FY17 only. A major reason for the revenue boost is a significant hike in Metro fare and the commencing of Pink Line, Magenta Line, Violate Line and Green Line.
Besides, the government is also putting in place technology-based solutions to provide concessional fares for students and senior citizens, which will help increase the overall ridership of the Delhi Metro.
The new section of Durgabai Deshmukh-Lajpat Nagar in Delhi Metro's Pink Line was inaugurated on Monday. This 8.1-km long stretch will provide a relief to commuters as it is expected to take major traffic away from Delhi's arterial roads. Twenty trains will ply from Majlis Park to Lajpat Nagar with a frequency of 5 minutes 25 seconds during peak hours from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, 9 trains will make the rounds, with a frequency of 5 minutes 45 seconds.
Before this, the Delhi Metro's Magenta Line, touted as Knowledge Corridor, was inaugurated on May 28. The stretch, which connects four major universities of the Delhi-NCR, covers stations between Janakpuri West and Kalkaji Mandir. The DMRC aims to cover another 150 km stretch in the third phase of its expansion till 2020.
(Edited by Manoj Sharma)