CHENNAI: Patrons of Chennai Metro Rail are highly frustrated over delays at parking lots across many stations including Koyambedu, Thirumangalam, Airport, and Alandur.
According to a report in The Hindu, heavy traffic congestion during peak hours has left many passengers annoyed as they are forced to wait in long queues to enter or exit parking facilities.
Lack of proper last-mile connectivity has forced several metro users to rely on personal vehicles to reach the stations. However, technical issues with payment machines have added in a large way to the delays.
Commuters noted that the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) readers at parking lots take a lot of time to process payments which has resulted in the formation of long queues. Apart from this, some machines fail to log entry timestamps, while others continue to show vehicles as still parked even after they’ve left.
Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) officials admitted that the recent surge in complaints are mainly due to SIM card-related synchronization issues in the payment machines. They added that the issue has been escalated to the concerned authorities and would be resolved soon.
However, reports suggest that lack of manpower is also one of the main reasons for the issue and recruiting additional staff can help manage parking issues in an efficient manner.