Even high school students do better math than Bengaluru Metro: Tejasvi Surya flags fare revision errors

Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya on October 9 raised serious concerns over the revised Namma Metro fare structure, alleging that Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) made 'basic mathematical miscalculations' in its Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) report.

In a detailed letter to BMRCL MD Dr J Ravishankar, Surya said the corporation’s fare revision proposal of 105 percent is far higher than the 50-55 percent increase that should have resulted from the correct application of the FFC formula. He added that commuters have already paid excess fares since the revision came into effect in February 2025.

Also, read: Bengaluru Metro releases fare fixation report seven months after up to 71% hike

“Even high school students can do better mathematical calculations than what BMRCL did for fare revision,” Surya said. “This is an exercise in vacuum which has no basis, even when a clear mathematical equation was given.”

The MP highlighted a glaring example in the FFC report where maintenance and administration costs were shown to have increased by 366 percent, whereas the correct calculation shows the rise should have been around 118.5 percent. According to Surya, such errors artificially inflated the fare hike.

Also, read: Bengaluru Metro cites Karnataka's financial strain for recent fare revisions of up to 71 percent

He also criticised the Fare Fixation Committee for failing to properly scrutinise BMRCL’s request. “Instead of re-verifying the data, the Committee merely noted that 105.15 percent was too high and arbitrarily reduced it to an average of 51.55 percent without recording valid reasons,” he wrote.

Surya urged BMRCL to revisit the fare structure, correct the anomalies, and consider engaging the public through an open forum with city representatives to ensure transparency and fairness.

The MP’s letter comes after he intervened in the Karnataka High Court, which prompted BMRCL to release the FFC report in September 2025 following a prolonged delay. Surya said the failure of both BMRCL and the Committee to ensure a reasonable fare revision has burdened commuters with increases of up to 82 percent on frequently used routes.

“BMRCL must stop this undue burden on metro riders and rectify the anomalies in the metro fares,” Surya stressed.

Also, read: Travellin' Blues: Congested Bengaluru now has the costliest Metro fare in India