The increase in metro fares, announced for May 1, has been postponed by two months. The decision was made by the interim Minister of Transport, Radu Miruță, less than 24 hours after taking office.
The draft order has already been put up for public consultation.
Two-month postponement for price hike
According to the draft order, the implementation deadline for the new fares is extended until July 1, 2026. Thus, the price of a trip remains, for now, at 5 lei, even though it had been set to increase to 7 lei.
The decision comes after the former Minister of Transport, Ciprian Șerban, had signed the order for the fare increase before resigning. He publicly explained the context in which the decision was made.
"Bad luck, as a classic would say in life. My bad luck, as it's towards the end of my term. When it landed on my desk, it had to be signed," stated Ciprian Șerban.
He added that the measure had already been assumed as part of the Metrorex recovery plan and was a condition for approving the company's budget.
Metrorex required to reduce expenses
During the 60-day postponement period, Metrorex must come up with a concrete plan to reduce expenses. The document stipulates a decrease of at least 10% in the cost base within a maximum of six months.
According to the rationale, the company must identify "concrete actions, clear milestones, and financial effects" for each proposed measure.
The Ministry of Transport aims to avoid directly transferring costs to passengers without internal company efficiency.
Why the price hike was blocked
Authorities cite the need for a detailed analysis of the impact of the fare increase on transport demand. Metrorex must assess, based on real validation data, how passengers would react to fare increases, including for monthly passes, which generate the highest revenues.
The document indicates that at a fare of 7 lei, the metro could become comparable in price to ridesharing services for short distances or surface transportation.
"This brings it closer to the threshold where substitution becomes economically rational for some user segments," as stated in the rationale note cited by Club Feroviar.
The consequence could be the loss of some passengers, affecting revenues and system efficiency.
Impact on traffic and pollution
The Ministry also requests an analysis of the effects on urban mobility and air quality. There is concern that some passengers may switch from the metro to personal cars or services like Uber or Bolt.
"A potential redirection of metro passengers to personal cars and/or ridesharing services will worsen emission indicators," as stated in the official document.
The issue is sensitive as Romania is already under European pressure. In December 2025, the European Commission decided to refer Romania to the Court of Justice of the European Union due to air quality monitoring issues.
At the same time, Bucharest has commitments outlined in the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan 2016–2030, aiming to increase public transportation usage.
180% increases in recent years
The document also highlights the social impact of successive price hikes. The fare for a trip has increased from 3 lei in 2021 to 5 lei in 2025 and was set to reach 7 lei in 2026.
This represents a total increase of approximately 180% over five years.
Metrorex now needs to analyze whether this increase is sustainable for the population, considering salary and inflation trends, and evaluate the socio-economic effects on passengers.