The Hindu : New Delhi News : Admission time is boom time for Metro

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 03, 2007
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New Delhi

Admission time is boom time for Metro

Staff Reporter

PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Students going through the admission form at Delhi University on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: The onset of the admission season at Delhi University has spelt boom for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). On the first day of sale of forms for undergraduate courses, the footfalls at Vishwavidyalaya metro station went up to 28,000. On regular days the average number of passengers is about 18,000.

This additional rush has earned the DMRC Rs. 3.26 lakh against the normal earning of Rs. 2.5 lakh.

To woo passengers as also to give a fillip to its smart card scheme, the DMRC has decided to give a 10 per cent discount on the cards purchased from Monday onward and has also reduced the security deposit from Rs.100 to Rs.50. This security deposit of Rs.50 is refunded on return of the card.

DMRC officials said the cards offer passengers relief from standing in queues for purchase of tokens and also allow them to terminate or extend their journey and are also transferable.

DMRC officials said commuters could buy the cards for a value of Rs.100 up to a maximum value of Rs.800. The value can be increased as per the passenger's need.

These cards remain valid for a year from the date of purchase and can be renewed at any of the metro stations.

The Delhi Metro has a rider-ship of over 5 lakh per day and nearly 1.9 lakh use the smart cards.

On Friday alone, the DMRC earned Rs.73 lakh from passenger revenue.

"Smart card sales have gone up by 53 per cent between January and May. About 785 cards were sold on a daily basis in January whereas the number has now increased to 1,201. About 4.88 lakh smart cards are in circulation at present," said a DMRC official on Saturday.

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