DMRC's recharge revenue dips

DMRC is bleeding because of fares remaining unchanged for the past seven years

The upward swing in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC’s) recharge revenue has reversed after it stopped accepting demonetised notes, and the earning has dipped to Rs 2.5-2.7 crore a day. The recharge amount touched Rs 16.18 crore on November 10, after demonetisation was announced on November 8, since the government allowed old 500- and 1,000-rupee notes to be used for this.
 
Faced with the problem of giving change to customers, DMRC is seeking a relaxation in the RBI guidelines to allow the recharge card to have a maximum balance of Rs 2,500 from the current Rs 2,000. The corporation has approached the Project Planning, Implementation and Maintenance Service (PPIMS) wing of the RBI for this. The corporation did a recharge of Rs 2 crore on December 25, Rs 2.73 crore on December 26 and Rs 2.77 crore on December 27.
 

Payments through old currency notes for recharge ended on December 10.“The earning is likely to be Rs 2-2.70 crore now. It was Rs 10-15 crore daily when old notes were being allowed for recharge,” an official told Business Standard.
 
DMRC, which is bleeding because of fares remaining unchanged for the past seven years and the increasing maintenance costs and fleet expansion plans, has been able to profit from demonetisation.
 
DMRC’s operating ratio was 54.8 per cent in 2009-10, which moved up to 69.4 per cent in 2015-16.
 
The proposal to hike fares was deferred on the day of demonetisation, November 8. According to reports, the decision was postponed after the Delhi government sought more time to study the recommendations of the Fare Fixation Committee (FCC).
 
The panel appointed by the urban development ministry had recommended a 25per cent hike in the lowest fare and a 66 per cent increase in the highest fare.
 
The committee, headed by a retired judge of the Delhi High Court, Justice M L Mehta, had recommended that the minimum fare should be increased from Rs 8 to Rs 10 and the maximum fare should be hiked from Rs 30 to Rs 50. The corporation revised fares last in September 2009, when the minimum fare was raised to Rs 8 from Rs 6 and the maximum to Rs 30 from Rs 22.