CM Kejriwal says steep hike in fares will ‘kill’ Metro

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the steep hike in fares will kill the Metro.

“This steep hike in Metro fare will kill Delhi Metro. If people stop using it, then what purpose does it serve,” Mr Kejriwal tweeted. The chief minister was referring to media reports on Friday that the Metro had lost 3 lakh commuters a day after the fare hike on October 10.

On Friday, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), in its defence, had said the loss cannot solely be attributed to the fare hike and there were monthly variations noted throughout the year.

The Delhi government had vehemently opposed the fare hike and locked horns with the DMRC and central government over the matter. The Aam Aadmi Party had launched a satyagraha to protest the fare hike last month. The fares were increased from October 10, despite strong opposition from the AAP-led Delhi government which had locked horns with the DMRC over the hike — the second this year.

According to a RTI reply, the Metro’s daily average ridership came down to 24.2 lakh in October from 27.4 lakh in September, a fall of around 11 per cent.

The Blue Line, considered the metro’s busiest, lost over 30 lakh commuters, according to data shared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in response to an RTI query. The 50-km corridor connects Dwarka to Noida. The metro currently has a 218-km network across Delhi-NCR.

On October 10, the DMRC effected the fare hike, leading to a rise of around Rs 10 for nearly every distance slab.