'₹300 metro trip...': Viral post slams Namma Metro fare hike, says driving is cheaper; sparks outrage

When Namma Metro hiked its fares recently, the fallout was swift and sharp. Daily commuters, especially students and low-income groups, have begun ditching the metro in search of cheaper, albeit slower, alternatives like city buses and private vehicles. The cost hike hasn't come with better services as infrequent service continue to frustrate riders. Online, the backlash is gaining momentum, with residents publicly breaking down how the fare increase is hurting their wallets and wasting their time.

Illustrating the growing frustration, one commuter shared a cost breakdown of a typical day’s travel from Chikkabidarakallu to JP Nagar.

“I had to go to JP Nagar from Chikkabidarakallu. The journey cost me—

Auto from home to metro station – ₹70  
Metro from Chikkabidarakallu to RV Road – ₹80  
Walk from RV Road to destination – ₹0 (but took 13 minutes)  
Return Walk – 13 minutes  
Return Metro – ₹80  
Return last mile – ₹70  
Total – ₹300  

If I had driven to the destination from home, my cost would have been ₹250 with no walking, no climbing and descending stairs, no waiting for cabs,” the post on Reddit read.

“All in all, driving your own car is saving time and money. This should not be the case with public transport, especially in populated urban centres like Bengaluru,” the user added.

The post quickly struck a chord with many. 

“Forget about last mile connectivity, there is not enough parking space even for two wheelers in most of the metro stations,” one user pointed out.

Another added, “Well said, in the space where they've assigned for parking they can construct multilevel, pass-based parking lot but these mfs don't do preliminary planning or population density survey and directly jump into civil works and later cry about shortage of funds, we'll increase price and all, and our lovely government keeps increasing prices.”

The conversation also touched on the comfort and accessibility of buses. “We are seriously lacking last mile connectivity in the city,” one user wrote. “Everyone is encouraging the use of public transportation but no one talks about the crowd and discomfort. Our buses (especially the low floor ones) are not really comfortable, people over 45 years of age with joint pains and stuff struggle to catch a seat in these buses and not to ignore the sudden breaks and narrow aisles.”