Justin Jabajose has sent his two-wheeler for repairs. The mechanic has missed the deadline – not once, but many times. Justin is not worried anymore. Without the bike, he has been using the MRTS. Guess what, now Justin does not want to travel by any other mode of transport. Even when his bike returns, he is not going to give up travelling by the MRTS.
“I used to drive down to work. Only a few months ago, I came to know there was a station close to my office,” says Justin, a resident of Indira Nagar, who travels to Mundagakanniamman Koil, where he works in an IT training company.
Besides savings on time and money, Justin finds relaxation while travelling by the MRTS. Something that was unthinkable when he was riding his two-wheeler through peak-hour traffic.
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Justin is one of many connected to the region who have in recent months discovered the advantages of travelling by the MRTS. Nearly four months since it was opened, the Mundagakanniamman Koil Station has won over many road users.
An average of 519 tickets are sold a day from the station (see box).
“The number of tickets sold is certainly on the rise. It will however take some more time to see if more people from the neighbourhood have started using MRTS,” said a senior official.
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V. Elamurughu, a regular commuter now only gets off at Mundagakanniamman Koil Station, which is station on the Beach-Velachery line, located between Light House and Thirumayilai, to take a bus to his office near Light House.
“Unlike at Light House, a bus stop is located close to this station and saves me the time it takes to walk,” he says, adding that he is increasingly noticing many youngsters working in companies on Radhakrishnan Salai using the station.
The staff manning the ticket counter at the new station agrees with him.
“After this station was opened, the one Thirumayilai is selling at least 200 tickets less every day,” says a staff.
On the steady increase in earnings at the Mundagakanniamman Koil Station, he says, “We started with Rs. 3,500 as our daily collection. It is now over Rs. 16,500 per day.”
According to officials, this figure is nowhere close to the collections at other stations. Yet the numbers are encouraging. On the Beach-Velachery MRTS line, Velachery, Thirumayilai, Chepauk and Thiruvanmiyur stations are the highest ticket earners.
“We will be issuing tender for the parking lot at the Mundagakanniamman Koil Station soon,” said the senior official. When this facility is added, patronage from more working people can be expected.