From October, Delhi Metro rides to cost up to Rs 10 more

NEW DELHI: Travelling by Delhi Metro is going to be heavier on your pocket from October 3. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had revised its fares in May this year, and while the first phase of the fare hike was implemented from May 10, the second one is going to kick in from October 1.

The fare revision, however, is only going to be felt on October 3 because October 1 is a Sunday and October 2 is Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and hence fares would be discounted on both days. The discounted Metro fare under the latest revision remains Rs 10 for the first 5km, but subsequently increases by Rs 10 in each slab, going up to a maximum of Rs 50.

Since its last fare revision in May, DMRC has seen a dip in footfall, with June witnessing a fall of almost 1.5 lakh passengers per day compared to June 2016.

DMRC managing director Mangu Singh, however, told TOI in an interview that the corporation is not worried that the second phase of fare revision might lead a further dip in footfall. The fares of Delhi Metro were last revised in 2009 and DMRC had been demanding a hike for a long time, citing the increase in operation costs, including the cost of electricity and the rising wage bill.

“The necessity of revision in fares was on account of increase in the cost of inputs, viz. the staff costs, the cost of energy and the cost of repair and maintenance,” a DMRC spokesperson said. The Metro is a highly capital-intensive project and is financed majorly by a soft loan provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, apart from interest-free subordinate loans from the central and Delhi governments.

DMRC’s income from operations and other sources was Rs 4,34,425.20 lakh during the financial year 2015-2016. Its expenditure on operations during the same period was Rs 2,19,965.55 lakh, which would technically mean that it is making an operational profit but the total expenditure, including employee benefits expenses, depreciation and amortisation expenses, finance cost etc, amounts to Rs. 4,81,093.21 lakh. Comparing the total expenditure with the total income would show a deficit of Rs. 70,844.74 lakh, after tax. Senior DMRC officials hope that the fare revision becomes an annual exercise.