A fully-functional Phase I network and increased ridership have helped Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited’s revenue from tickets to go up by more than ₹79.92 crore in 2018-19 compared to the previous financial year. However, the loss in the same period has gone up by more than ₹109 crore.
Ajay Seth, Managing Director of BMRCL, said in 2017-18, the 42-km Phase I was operational only from June 2017 while 2018-19 saw the whole network being operational through the entire financial year.
Subsequently, 13.37 crore passenger trips were recorded on the metro in 2018-19 compared to around 11 crore in 2017-18.
Revenue from operations increased from ₹324.99 crore in 2017-18 to ₹404.91 crore in 2018-19.
“We have seen a 22.4% increase in passengers, but our income has risen by 24.6%. Per passenger revenue has increased by 50 paise to around ₹30.31, but expenses have increased by only 40 paise to ₹24.10. This saving has gone towards repayment of interest on loans. Of the ₹121 crore in financial expenses in 2017-18, BMRCL has paid ₹95 crore while the government should pay ₹26 crore, which is a considerable reduction from previous years,” he said.
Losses
However, the unaudited balance sheet of BMRCL shows that losses have touched ₹462.30 crore till March 30, 2019, up from ₹352.25 crore in 2017-18. This was in large part due to depreciation of assets, as well as reduced income from the government, which has been reimbursing cash losses of the BMRCL.
While losses were not a concern, Mr. Seth said more work needed to be done to address first-mile and last-mile connectivity. Ridership has, after all, plateaued around 3.7 lakh passengers per day, which is significantly lower than the expected ridership when the Phase I network was designed.
