Metro fares will beat bus fares

Metro fares will beat bus fares
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Inordinate delays and the political wrangling over Bangalore Metrorail do not seem to have dampened the spirits of those involved with the much-needed project.

The Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Limited (BMRTL), the nodal agency for implementation of the project, is confident of getting the required clearances for the system.

‘‘We hope to get the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) clearance within a month and in all probability, work will start in December,’’ BMRTL Managing Director K N Srivastava told this website’s newspaper.

If things go as per the BMRTL’s expectations, first phase of Metrorail will be operational by 2008 and the entire system will be ready by 2010.

‘‘Once it is operational, metro rail fares will be cheaper than that of the BMTC, as fluctuations in fuel prices will not affect this system,’’ he said.

In 2010, Metrorail fares will range between Rs 5 to Rs 12, depending on distance you travel.

BMTC charges were the yardstick for calculating the metro fares, which were one-and-half times more than an ordinary bus charge.

‘‘The recent fuel price hike bridged that gap and by the time, metro is operational, its fares will be cheaper than BMTC,’’ the official claimed.

‘‘Metro is powered by electricity and five per cent increase in power price has been factored into while calculating fares,’’ he added.

However, traffic engineering expert M N Srihari does not agree with it. ‘‘Fares do not depend only on fuel prices as a lot of other things, including the project cost also make a difference. Metro fares may be more than BMTC and less than autorickshaws,’’he said.

Fares apart, once the Metrorail gets on to the track, travelling time will come down and traffic chaos on roads will disappear.

The new mode of city transport, is expected to ferry around 8 lakh commuters back and forth each day, reducing the burden on surface transport.

However, some traffic experts say that the ridership figure is hyped and it is difficult to achieve that.

Bangalore is following Delhi Metro model, which is yet to achieve projected ridership.

The Metrorail will have two-corridors: North-South from Peenya to JP Nagar and East-West from Byappanhalli to Mysore Road Junction. Both will intersect at Majestic.