The Kochi metro ridership increased by 41 lakh in 2019, a rise of 32% over 2018.
Altogether, 1,65,99,020 passengers travelled in the metro in 2019 as compared to 1,24,95,884 in 2018, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) informed. The leap in the number of commuters is attributed mainly to the commissioning of the Thykoodam extension in September 2019.
The ridership in 2019 was 88,83,184 till September 3. From September 4 (launch of Thykoodam stretch) to December 30, it was 77,14,836.
The average daily ridership now is 65,000, and 68,000 on weekends.
“Year 2019 was an impressive year for the Kochi metro. We are extremely happy that Kochiites relied on the metro for their travel needs,” said Alkesh Kumar Sharma, managing director, KMRL.
Second phase
“In 2020, we look forward to the Central Government sanctioning the second phase extensions, inauguration of the Petta stretch by March 2020, launch of India’s first Water Metro in November 2020, and augmenting the speed of extending the metro to Thripunithura,” he added.
