Hyderabad Metro Mulls Fare Hike Citing Mounting Losses, Say Officials

In Hyderabad, metro rail remains the only viable option for city residents seeking to avoid traffic congestion and health hazards caused by pollution. The metro offers a comfortable and cost-effective mode of travel, especially during the summer months when air-conditioned transport can be prohibitively expensive. Each day, lakhs of commuters in the twin cities rely on the metro for their daily travel.

However, there are indications that metro travel may soon become costlier. Hyderabad Metro Rail officials are reportedly considering a fare hike to recover sustained losses that have persisted since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent statement by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the company responsible for the metro's construction, the project had accumulated losses of ₹6,500 crore by the end of the last financial year.

In 2022, officials had approached the then Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government with a request to raise fares. The state government responded positively and requested the central government to form a Fare Fixation Committee under the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002. The central government subsequently constituted the committee, which reviewed proposals from L&T along with objections raised by commuters. After review, the committee approved the fare hike.

However, the BRS government did not proceed with the fare increase due to prevailing circumstances at the time, and the proposal was shelved.

With the recent change in state administration and the Congress party assuming power, the fare hike proposal has been revived. Metro officials have once again approached the state government, citing massive financial losses and urging approval for the fare revision. According to official sources, a fare increase now appears inevitable.

Officials have also pointed to the recent fare hike by Bengaluru Metro, which raised charges by as much as 44 percent, as a precedent. However, details of the proposed increase in Hyderabad have not yet been disclosed. At present, metro fares in Hyderabad range from a minimum of ₹10 to a maximum of ₹60.