City residents thrilled by tunnel ride coupled with slash in fare

Though there was a marginal decline in the footfall since the opening day, that it has recorded 33,000 plus in the following two days, the same time when most buses stayed off roads in the city owing to the transport strike, should enthuse metro managers. Metro has been transporting only 14,000-15,000 people daily till Saturday when only the 20 km the elevated corridor was operational. 

CMRL officers refuse to attribute the spurt in footfall either to bus strike or 40 per cent concession in ticket prices offered by CMRL to boost patronage. “We started the services only after 2 pm on Sunday, so it may not be an accurate reading of the performance of metro to attribute the rise in footfall to price reduction or transport strike. Also, we announced price concession only on Monday,” explained a senior CMRL officer requesting anonymity. 

According to its own preliminary marketing survey, patronage of CMRL, a four-car train of which could accommodate roughly 1,200 persons in any given time, would peak only in 2024-25. CMRL might be justified in expecting the patronage to peak in half the predicted time, like it happened in Delhi, but for it to achieve the same, the ticket price concession may have to be in vogue indefinitely. For, the maximum ticket fare of DMRC is still only half the maximum fare of Chennai metro. Also, linking of Chennai Central to Airport, slated to be done by the end of the year, would boost CMRL’s business. As of now, a relook at the stats after a while might demonstrate whether the hike in footfall was a one-time wonder or it is here to stay.