The Chennai Metro Rail has registered a spike in patronage with the opening of the stretch between Chennai Central and Chennai airport on Wednesday.
The services between Washermenpet and Chennai airport restarted on Monday and only had about 5,000 passengers.
On Tuesday, there was a marginal improvement, with about 6,000 availing the service.
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But following the latest reopening, nearly 13,980 commuters travelled by Metro Rail on Wednesday. A total of 24,980 passengers have travelled by Metro Rail as of Wednesday.
Officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) said the patronage was expected to increase further on Thursday as the direct train services between Chennai Central and Chennai airport had now recommenced. As many as 11,091 passengers have used smartcards in the last few days. “Gradually, more people will return when they notice the safety measures that are in place and how strictly they are implemented. Right now, we are seeing a lot of people coming to extend the validity of their expired smartcards. They will start using the service now,” an official said.
Commuters are slowly taking to the QR code based ticketing system. So far, 325 passengers have used the system, which was specifically introduced as a contactless alternative to tokens.
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Discount from Friday
Metro Rail has decided to offer 20% discount for those buying QR code tickets from Friday, in a bid to encourage more users.
“The main advantage is that commuters can easily cancel or even reschedule their trips. Another thing that most commuters have been asking is a round trip feature, and this can be implemented with QR code tickets,” another official said.