In what is not likely to go down well with the Mumbaikars, the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s plea seeking freezing of the existing fare structure of Mumbai Metro.
The apex court’s ruling will allow Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra)-led Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) to increase the fare of the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro to Rs. 110 from the present Rs. 40.
The Fare Fixation Committee had recently permitted a fare in the band of Rs. 10-110.
In April, a three-member committee of the central government had recommended the fare hike after analysing all aspects, including cost to operate the line and alternate modes of transport.
The recommendations were made after considering the reports of four expert committees appointed by the central government earlier.
Importantly, the FFC recommended fare is lower than the fare proposed by these experts committees.
The current fare for the city’s first – and so far only Metro – (presently 11.4 km long) is Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 30 and Rs. 40 depending on the distance.
MMOPL is not strictly comparable with other Metros in the country because other Metros have the advantage of concessional interest and lower power tariff, whereas MMOPL is paying commercial rate of interest and a very high electricity cost.
