Delhi Metro doubles long-distance fares

Delhi Metro on Monday announced a steep hike in fares, doubling fares for the longer distances while keeping the minimum hike at 20 per cent. The hike will come into effect from Wednesday.

According to the DMRC officials, the hike was long overdue as working costs have increased over the last few years.

The hike will be implemented in two phases.

The minimum fare has been increased from Rs8 to Rs10 while the maximum fare will go up from Rs30 to Rs50 on an immediate basis, a DMRC spokesperson said.

The new minimum fare will be Rs10, up from Rs8, while the maximum would be Rs 50 till September, and Rs60 from October, as against the existing Rs30, metro chief spokesperson Anuj Dayal told a press conference.

There will be a total of six fare slabs as against the existing 15.

The last hike was effected in 2009.

The fare revision will be implemented in two phases, ie, Phase-I that will be implemented with effect from 10 May 2017 and Phase-II that will be implemented from 1 October, 2017.

While the maximum fare would go up to Rs60 in October, on Sundays and national holidays, however, the maximum fare would be Rs40.

The DMRC board headed by union urban development secretary Rajib Gauba decided the hike on the basis of recommendations of a three-member fare fixation committee.

"The decision has been taken by an independent body. The last fare revision took place in 2009. The costs of repair and maintenance have gone up considerably while the power tariff, too, has increased," DMRC officials said.

Commuters, however, are peeved at the steep hike in long-distance fares, which is mostly used by students and low-income employees, who have no dependable alternative mode of transport.

Delhi Metro is patronised mostly by women who find it a boon amidst unruly bus and auto rickshaw operators, but this hike will discourage so many of these commuters.