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The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited report says Peenya (2,800) and Peenya Industry (1,500) Metro stations have registered the lowest daily average footfall of passengers, in sharp contrast to Byappanahalli (28,300), Kempegowda Majestic (27,500), Indiranagar (17,700), Yelachenahalli (16,000) and MG Road (14,900).
Other Metro stations with the lowest daily ridership include Deepanjali Nagar (4,000), Kuvempu Road (4,300), Lalbagh (4,300) and Yeshwantpur (4,400).
The reasons are attributed to the bluecollar workers in and around Peenya preferring the cheaper option of Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses. Byappanahalli’s proximity to IT hub Whitefield implies most techies prefer travelling by Metro to reach their workplaces on time. A Non-Government Organisation official said that most regular passengers, especially workers, have monthly bus passes, which is a cheaper option. The Metro is faster and reliable, but workers prefer BMTC because of the cost factor, even if they have to take multiple buses.
On the other hand, BMRCL offers smart cards that commuters can top up and travel on the Metro. For regular Metro travellers, the Metro smart cards are slightly cheaper than the Metro tickets. Moreover, for commuters from areas without Metro Feeder buses, the daily vehicle parking fees at the Metro station is on the higher side.
BMRCL records show that Namma Metro’s average daily ridership has increased by almost 12 times since 2011. The average daily number of commuters has increased from 28,007 in 2011 to 3.4 lakh now. BMRCL Managing Director Mahendra Jain is optimistic about the trend consolidating once the capacity of trains is increased and work on a bigger network completes.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
