50% dip in Metro ridership on first working day of week

From Sunday till 6 pm on Monday, Rs 11.82 lakh revenue was generated from the Metro operations.

Since the lines were thrown open on Saturday night, services have been disrupted due to technical glitches. A train heading towards Aarey station had to be withdrawn at Magathane owing to technical glitches. The passengers had to be shifted to another train.

Officials said there was a drop in ridership as most passengers were taking a joyride on the Metro on Sunday, which was not a working day.

“It will take some time for the people to use the Metro… the footfall will increase gradually,” said an official. The Phase 1 of the two lines has a capacity to carry almost 3 lakh passengers everyday.

According to the commuters, as Phase 1 of Metro lines 2A and 7 is not providing direct seamless connectivity beyond Goregaon and Dahisar, they are preferring to travel by local trains.

“I have to travel to my office in Andheri from Dahisar. I can take the Metro from Dahisar but it will only go till Aarey and I will have to either take a cab from there to reach Andheri or a train from Goregaon station, which is located at a distance of at least 2 km. I would rather prefer to travel by local trains,” said Rupali Jadhav, a commuter.

The MMRDA, which is constructing a 35-km stretch, is expected to complete remaining work on Metro Line 2A between Dahanukarwadi to Andheri (West) and Line 7 between Aarey and Gundavali station in Andheri (East) by August end and open it for the public around October-November.

“Once the whole stretch is open, the ridership will increase, as it would provide seamless connectivity to other modes of transport, such on railway stations and Metro Line 1 at Andheri,” said an official.