The city is in desperate need of mass transit options that are convenient, predictable, accessible and affordable, but is anyone listening?
Trapped in a twister of traffic jams, the last thing the Bengalurean wanted was a steep, unprecedented 70-100% fare hike of the Namma Metro. The widespread public outcry and a partial rollback of the fares by the Karnataka government have exposed the city’s clear lack of a reliable and affordable mass transit system that could potentially address its notorious road congestion.
The February 9 hike had propelled Namma Metro to be the country’s costliest. For a city with a grossly inadequate fleet of Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) public transport buses and a non-existent suburban rail system, this was a bolt from the blue. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) had its reasons: Mounting debt repayment obligations and a fare structure that was last revised in June 2017. But for the paying public, this was cold comfort.
What mattered to them most was the sudden unaffordability of a relatively reliable Metro system. By BMRCL’s own admission, the fare hike triggered an 8-10 per cent drop in daily ridership. It fell from 8.68 lakh on February 5 to 7.78 lakh on February 12. The message was clear and ominous: Pushed to the wall, the commuters would abandon the costly option and switch to personal vehicles, a recipe for aggravated chaos on the roads below.
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Glaring policy gap
So, how did Bengaluru get here? This should be a no-brainer since neglect of public transport as a viable, sustainable commute option has remained a glaring policy gap for decades under multiple state governments. If the 2000s saw road-widening as the preferred option to accommodate the onslaught of private, personal vehicles, the later years witnessed a definite policy shift that only accelerated this process. Today, this trend continues with fancy elevated corridors and proposals for tunnel roads that aids only private vehicles.
Consider this: For a city with a population in excess of 1.35 crore, the BMTC bus fleet stands at a mere 6,340. To make matters worse, about a quarter of this fleet is overaged, a concern flagged by a Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report. Inevitably, the low numbers have seriously impacted the trip frequency at bus stops across the city. The long queues and the total helplessness of lakhs of waiting commuters are a telling testimony of a system gone horribly wrong.
Also read: Bengaluru Metro fare hike: CM calls for reduction as ridership falls
Poor last-mile connectivity has only exasperated commuter woes, and hastened the shift from public to private transport. The last mile from home to the bus stop / Metro station and from there to the destination and back are gaps filled only by costly, unregulated auto rickshaws or Ola / Uber cabs. Since footpaths are virtually un-walkable, the only way forward is private vehicle ownership.
The data is startling. As of January 31, 2025, the number of vehicles registered in Bengaluru stands at a whopping 1.22 crore, nearly 88 per cent of which are privately owned. On March 31, 2024, that number stood at 1.16 crore, but what created a flutter was the astounding 340 per cent rise in the number of cars. Today, 25.2 lakh private cars and a world-beating 82 lakh two-wheelers are jam-packed into a creaking, rickety road network.
BMLTA, a grounded authority
The way forward cannot be dictated by a top-down approach that leaves the voices of road users unheard and unaddressed. Wriggling out of this inglorious mess and framing a robust, inclusive mobility policy mandates a seriously democratic and collaborative approach. Multiple transport corporations like BMTC and BMRCL, and stakeholders such as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) have to come onboard to chart out a path that is well-planned and sustainable.
Unfortunately, the platform envisioned to do exactly this has been in cold storage for two years. The Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) was conceived and the Bill enacted in 2022, but is yet to get its rules framed and the body constituted. Tasked with mobility planning through multi-agency collaboration and coordination, the Authority would have been the ideal place to decide what Bengaluru needs to get its Metro, BMTC, suburban rail, walking and cycling infrastructure in order.
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Suburban rail, delayed by decades
First proposed in 1983 but still in the works after 43 years, the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP) was widely acknowledged as a sure-shot congestion killer. After decades of active public campaigns to kickstart the project, a 161-km, four-corridor network was green-signalled by the 2019 Railway Budget. But progress on this mass transit mode has been extremely slow, although two lines are scheduled for a December 2026 opening.
Unlike the Metro, the suburban rail is not flashy and there is not a single completed stretch to showcase its capability for the public to experience. This, despite its obvious advantages: Much lower land acquisition and project costs, higher coach capacity compared to BMRCL rakes, higher speed and low operational costs. Seasoned railway activists have called out the indifference of both the State and the Railways in accelerating the project work.
So, there it is. Multiple agencies working in silos, and no sign of a connected network that helps commuters seamlessly switch from one mode to another. Most Metro stations do not have adequate parking spaces and bus bays to help with intermodal connectivity. A striking example of this gap is clearly visible at the city’s Yeshwanthpura Railway Terminal. A simple bridge could have helped commuters get across to the nearby Metro Station, located barely a few hundred metres away. The bridge is still a dream, but the terminal is getting a cosmetic, aesthetic upgrade!
Also read: Bengaluru Metro fare hike put on hold by Centre: BJP MP Mohan
Political colour
By crying out against the Metro fare hike, commuters are clearly pointing fingers at both the State and the Centre for neglecting Bengaluru’s mounting public transport demands. The hike itself has taken a political colour with Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge stating that it was decided by the Fare Fixation Committee set up by the Centre. But BMRCL justifies it, citing its debt repayment obligations of Rs 10,422.2 crore until 2029-30.
The blame game will continue, but for lakhs of Bengalureans trapped in their daily commute woes, there seems to be no respite. Unreliable, infrequent BMTC buses; costly Metro rides; delayed suburban rail network, and unregulated auto rickshaws have all combined to trap them perennially in a hopeless gridlock. The city is in desperate need of mass transit options that are convenient, predictable, accessible and affordable, but no one seems to care.
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