Metro commuters in Bengaluru may soon face a 45 per cent hike in fares, significantly increasing travel costs across the city. The latest development has come a few days after the Karnataka government increased bus fares by 15 per cent. The official announcement is likely to be made tomorrow, January 18.

According to the reports, the new fares on Bengaluru Metro are likely to come into effect from January 20.

"The board has given its approval to the recommendation of the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) to revise the fares. We will soon announce the revised fare structure," a BMRCL official was quoted as saying by Moneycontrol.

A few days ago, the Karnataka government had hiked the fares of bus rides. Citing the reason for the hike, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said the decision was taken in view of the substantial hike in operational costs such as increase in spending on fuel prices and staff.

"The cabinet has decided to revise the bus fare of the four state transport corporations of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) by 15 per cent,” PTI quoted the minister as saying.

He added, “With this increase, there will be a return of ₹74.84 crores every month...The new fare will be applicable from the 5th of January.”