Metro ticket price hike on cards

Hyderabad: Metro ticket prices are set for a 5 to 10 per cent hike, depending on the fare fixation committee report that is likely to be released soon, sources in the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) said.

The committee was constituted by the union ministry of housing and urban affairs in October to recommend fare revision for the Hyderabad Metro. The committee, an independent body with quasi-judicial powers, will examine costing data furnished by L&T, and considers inputs from experts and suggestions from the public before deciding the fares.

The fare fixation committee is headed by Justice Gudiseva Shyam Prasad (retd) and comprises Dr Surendrakumar Bagde, additional secretary of the union urban affairs department, and Arvind Kumar, special chief secretary (MA&UD), as members.

Sources said that HMRL authorities, in October, sought public suggestions after approaching the Centre to revise ticket prices to cover losses incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to L&T Metro Rail’s audit report published in May 2020, the
company generated a revenue of Rs 590 crore solely from the operation of the Metro in the financial year 2019-20. Against this context, the HMRL authorities were in negotiations with the government to hike the ticket price to about a maximum of Rs 100 per person and waive off losses incurred during the lockdown period, when Metro operations were stopped.

Currently, the minimum fare from one station to another is `10 and the
maximum fare is Rs 60.

However, when asked about the same, HMRL managing director N.V.S. Reddy rubbished the claims of a price revision. “FCC has to give its report. It's an independent body headed by a retired judge of a High Court. Its work is confidential and no one has access to its deliberations,” he told Deccan Chronicle.