While the interim report on upgrading all Mumbai local trains to air-conditioned (AC) talks of effective communication and convincing commuters to accept the higher fares of existing AC trains, Mumbai commuter bodies say a simple immediate solution could be reducing the fare of AC trains to that of first class to end all controversies once and for all for wider acceptability.

First class commuters may get convinced by such campaigns, but what about second-class passengers, who may not be able to afford them at all. Though Mumbai suburban fares are abysmally low, the right way of correcting them will be to first introduce an upgraded fleet of trains at existing fares and then raise them, sources said.