Record !! Kochi Metro crosses 1 lakh Passengers a Day..
For the first time since its inception, single-day ridership of Kochi Metro crossed one lakh passengers on Thursday, thanks to the extension of services up to Thykoodam.
As per KMRL authorities, till 9 pm on Thursday, more than one lakh passengers travelled in Kochi Metro. With two more hours to wind up the service, the final figures are likely to go up, they said.
The previous highest ridership registered was on September 7 when 99,680 passengers travelled in the Metro that day. Prior to that, it was on June 26, 2017, the first Sunday after the commissioning of the project, that Kochi Metro witnessed the highest footfall with the figure touching 98,310.
However, it was mainly joy riders who contributed to the record figures in 2017 as Metro was new to the city. The average ridership before the service extension was 45,000.
The services were extended up to Thykoodam on September 3. Since then, nearly seven lakh passengers have travelled in Kochi Metro, helping it to attain operational profit.
Over a lakh commuters travelling in the metro on a lean day, when there was not much traffic on city roads, is a positive development. Efforts are on to facilitate more parking space in the vicinity of metro stations, by renewing contracts with entrepreneurs who enter into tie-ups with owners of vacant spaces, said KMRL sources.
Meanwhile, Axis Bank has waived off the issuance fee for the metro’s Kochi-1 card from ₹150 to zero till the end of the month. Similarly, commuters can also reload the card for ₹5. The bank has also tied up with BookMyShow to give a flat 20% instant discount (up to ₹100), if the payment is done through Kochi-1 card.
Source – The New Indian Express.