‘Damage created by an insensitive govt’: Mohandas Pai on Bengaluru Metro price hike, drop in ridership

Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai said that the “damage” to the Bengaluru Metro was done by an insensitive government. He was reacting to a tweet on ridership fall in the metro, following a hike in ticket prices. 

“Damage created by an insensitive govt which uses our taxes for freebies, taxes us more and does not care about our ease of living. Big shame,” said Pai, reacting to a reporter’s post on X that ridership on the Bengaluru Metro fell by a lakh when compared to the same time last week. 

Pai had earlier too criticised the Karnataka government over the mismanagement of the Bengaluru Metro project. "Government of Karnataka has messed up the Metro project, delayed throughout due to bad management. They should bear the cost of repayment, not fob off on citizens here," he said.

He asked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah if it was okay to spend Rs 56,000 crore of taxpayers’ money for freebies but not be responsible for the mismanagement of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited. Pai said all the government in the last 15 years are responsible for this mess. 

Bengaluru Metro price hike

BMRCL announced a fare hike for the metro services in the city, which came into effect from February 9. This increase, recommended by the Fare Fixation Committee, saw metro rides becoming approximately 50 per cent costlier. The revised fare structure introduced different tariffs for peak and non-peak hours, similar to ride-hailing services like Ola and Uber.

The maximum fare for metro travel was increased from Rs 60 to Rs 90, while the minimum balance required on metro cards was raised from Rs 50 to Rs 90. The fare for a journey between 0-2 kilometres is Rs 10, with incremental increases up to Rs 90 for distances of 25 km and above.

The new fare system includes a five per cent discount on Smart cards during peak hours and an effective 10 per cent discount during off-peak hours. Non-peak hours are defined as the start of metro services until 8 am, from noon to 4 pm, and from 9 pm until closing on weekdays. 

Additionally, a 10 per cent discount will be available on smart cards on Sundays and national holidays.

This fare hike followed a recent 15 per cent increase in government bus fares in Karnataka.