Mumbai Metro fare slab to remain same till November 30

MMOPL prefers status quo (Rs 10 to 40) expecting the Maharashtra government's intervention

Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL), an arm of Reliance Infrastructure, has said there won’t be any change in the discounted fares of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 30, and Rs 40, for travel along the 11.4-km metro rail Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor, till November 30. After a committee’s recommendations in July to increase the top fare to Rs 110, the company had decided to continue with the current fares till October 31.

The MMOPL board on July 20 accepted Fare Fixation Committee’s (FFC) report suggesting a fare hike. It was opposed by three directors of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The company subsequently on July 29 approached the state government with a plea for a one-time grant of Rs 1,000 crore, monthly subsidy of Rs 21.75 crore and approval for the commercial exploitation of real estate along the Metro railway stations to maintain the current fare slab.

So far, the state government has not responded to MMOPL’s proposal. MMRDA, in its petition in the high court here, had challenged FFC’s report suggesting a fare rise up to Rs 110. As reported by Business Standard, MMRDA argued that the FFC report would irreversibly damage the character of the Metro as a mass rapid transport system. Moreover, MMRDA had sought to set aside the report and a stay on in its implementation.

MMOPL spokesperson said, “MMOPL to continue to charge the current discounted fare of Rs 10 to Rs 40 till November 30. Based on the advisory of the FFC, MMOPL has already approached the Maharashtra government and MMRDA to achieve the dual objective of affordable fare and business sustainability.”