Delhi commuters unhappy with Metro fare hike

Unhappy and helpless - that's how the commuters felt after Delhi Metro announced hike in its fares Wednesday. As the hike came just a week after the state-run city bus service increased fares, a number of people said it was a double whammy and will hit them hard.

Delhi Metro's 36 percent hike in fares has come after a gap of five years and will be effective from Friday. It follows increases in state-run Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) increased its bus fares last week, irking commuters. On an average, over 850,000 people commute daily by Delhi Metro.

For most commuters who take the Metro everyday, the hike means a leap in their daily expenses, which is certain to burn a hole in their pockets.

Arindam Mohanty, a daily commuter, said the hike means an additional expenditure of Rs.400 on travel.

"The hike may not seem too drastic for those taking the Metro occasionally, but for people like me who take the Metro daily for work this means a lot. I will now have to spend an additional Rs.400 just on travel by the Metro," Mohanty told IANS.

Similarly, Ananya Sharma, a college goer, said the Metro fare hike will put a squeeze on her monthly pocket money.

"I take the bus and then the Metro to go to college in north Delhi from my home in south. With the bus fare hike, I had started spending double the amount of money than I used to earlier on commuting. Now with the Metro fare hike, this will increase by at least another Rs.300," Sharma said.

"I get a fixed amount of pocket money for the month and if my expenditure on just commuting increases so much, I will have to cut down on other things. I just don't know how to," she added.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced Wednesday that the minimum fare (0-2 km) will be increased from Rs.6 to Rs.8, while the maximum fare (over 39 km) will be increased from Rs.22 to Rs.30.

The rest of the slabs will also increase accordingly. On an average, over 850,000 people commute daily by Delhi Metro.

Rashi Jain, a school teacher who travels from Dwarka to Pragati Maidan everyday, said: "For me the fare hike will mean that my daily expenditure just on travel by the Metro increases from Rs.44 to Rs.60, which really pinches me."

"However, having said that with the kind of services that the Metro provides - despite the recent glitches - it is a boon and a fare hike for its better maintenance and expansion is fair," Jain admitted.

Ankit Jain, who works in a private firm, capped it all by saying: "The price of everything - be it the bus fare, now Metro fare and even veggies - is increasing. The only thing that is not is our salaries! At this rate, I will be spending all that I earn and saving will become a far fetched dream".

Last updated on Nov 11^th, 2009 at 17:33 pm IST--IANS