TSIT ■ Hyderabad
In the backdrop of the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) inviting suggestions from commuters for the revision of fares , Tatvaa Foundation, one of the NGOs based out here on Tuesday said that fare revision after five years, offering all qualities, is ‘justified’.
In a statement, one of the core members of the foundation, Akhilesh Washikar said that as an organization when we need to provide services efficiently and consistently, we need to either increase our income or cut down the expenditure of the facilities which we provide. Making some of the suggestions, he said that HMR looks forward to increasing the number of coaches and improving on reducing the crowd in trains. The fare increase may help the Metro to buy new coaches which will help the public. Metro authorities can have a QR code in all the trains and stations with a basic form that commuters can quickly scan and give their suggestions on how to increase their efficiency and services, Akhilesh suggested.
An increase in more advertisement spaces will definitely help the Metro authorities to increase their revenue which will reduce their losses, he opined. Since its inception in 2017 (5 years back), Hyderabad Metro Rail has not revised its fare and as per a report, in FY 21-22, L&T Hyderabad Metro Rail incurred a loss of over 1766.75 crore. In such a scenario, support is something that we all must impart.
With the loss, the metro can shut down and Hyderabad will lose its urban icon, he added. Government of India had earlier constituted Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) for the purpose of recommending fare revision for the Hyderabad Metro Rail under the Chairmanship of Justice (retired) Gudiseva Shyam Prasad with Dr. Surendrakumar Bagde, Additional Secretary (H&V), MoHUA and Mr Arvind Kumar, Special Chief Secretary, MA&UD , Government of Telangana as Members.
The FFC accordingly invited Metro Rail passengers suggestions regarding the revision of HMR fares The last date to reach suggestions to the Fare Fixation Committee is November 15, 2022.
