The ridership of Kochi metro till 10 p.m. on Wednesday was 62,938, which marked a big leap in patronage for the urban mass rapid transport system whose average daily ridership before extending the service up to Thykoodam on Tuesday stood around 40,000 commuters.
The boom in the number of commuters is on expected lines as opening up of the metro rail link to Ernakulam South Railway Station and passing via the Vyttila Junction allow commuters to jump the heavy traffic jam on the south end of M.G. and Chittoor roads as well as Sahodaran Ayyappan Road.
The stretch of Sahodaran Ayappan Road between Vyttila and the city hub is one of the most congested in the city. Vyttila is the busiest traffic junction in the State with around one lakh vehicles passing through it every day. The railway station, Vyttila Mobility Hub, and Vyttila Junction are exit points for commuters moving in and out of Kochi city towards its east, west and northerly directions.
A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish, MD, KMRL, said that the rise in the number of passengers was on expected lines. The numbers would increase further over the coming days, he said.
Venkateswara Bhatt, the first passenger to board the train from Thykoodam at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, said there were very few passengers on the train. “But when I returned around 10.30 a.m., it was all packed. My wife, employed with a private firm at Lissie Junction, will be a regular rider now,” said Mr. Bhatt, a temple priest at Ambalamedu.
The opening of the 6-km stretch between Maharaja’s College and Thykoodam takes the total metro rail service length to 24 km.
Concessions
Meanwhile, KMRL has come out with discounts to attract more passengers and to take daily ridership. Its average ridership on weekends is 50,000 right now.
Day passes issued at any of the metro stations for unlimited number of trips in a day will cost ₹125 while two-day weekend passes for Saturday and Sunday will cost ₹250 and can be used for unlimited trips across the metro rail stretch. Further insurance fee, ₹150, charged on the Kochi1 Card has been waived till September 30.
