The DMRC and the State Transport Department are at loggerheads over the increase in fares of Metro feeder buses. As Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has been incurring loses daily by running feeder bus services, it has written to the State Transport Authority (STA) to waive off composite fee which is Rs2,400 per month at present. However, the authority turned down DMRC proposal instead it urged to hike bus fare.
DMRC run 120 feeder buses plying on 15 routes which connect important Metro Station to nearby localities. As per an estimate, around 50,000 passengers travel in those feeder buses per day.
“In a recent letter, the DMRC has requested the Government to waive off the composite fees of Rs2,400 per month as the average earning has been decreased substantially. The letter mentions that earning per/km is Rs25.43 while expenditure is Rs30.50 per/km and thus the average loss is Rs 5.26 per/km. However, the STA declined the facts,” said a senior official of the Delhi Metro.
Presently, fare of feeder is Rs5-Rs15 depending on the distance travelled. “Metro clearly told them that we won’t be able to increase the fare of feeder buses to make up their loss as it’s an unviable project,” he said.
“For making up their loss, the State Transport Department has asked them to set up more commercial markets and shops below the Metro stations so that they could be able to make up the loss,” the DMRC official said.