Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Metro fares to rise from Wed, next hike in Oct

- HT Correspond­ents letters@hindustant­imes.com

Metro rides in Delhi will be costlier from Wednesday. And a fresh round of hikes is coming in October.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporatio­n (DMRC) announced the revised fares on Monday – a minimum of ₹10 from the earlier ₹8 and a maximum of ₹50, a twentyrupe­e hike.

However, what will hurt daily commuters most is the 60% hike in the 15-km slab — most people travel this distance for work daily — from ₹18 to ₹30.

The AAP government was quick to oppose the hike, saying it will “adversely affect regular passengers”.

The fare structure will change again from October 1 when the minimum fare for travelling a distance of more than 2 km will go up by another ₹10, said Anuj Dayal, the DMRC spokespers­on.

“There will be a total of six fare slabs as against the existing 15 (for the first hike),” Dayal added (see chart).

An estimated 2.8 million passengers travel daily on the Metro – one of India’s most modern public transport systems — that crisscross­es the city through a network of undergroun­d and overground tracks. Another 140km will be added to the existing network of 213km by the end of this year, say DMRC officials.

Dayal said fares on Sundays and national holidays — January 26, August 15 and October 2 — will be lower and calculated on separate slabs.

CONTINUED ON P 6 RELATED REPORTS ››P2

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India