NEWDELHI: For the first time since starting its operations a decade and a half ago, Delhi Metro has seen a substantial dip in its daily ridership, probably due to the fare hike that came into effect on May 10.
If its June 2017 ridership is compared to the footfall in the same month in 2016, the dip will be of 1.5 lakh passengers daily on average.While 27.21 lakh passengers travelled by Delhi Metro in June 2016, the number came down to 25.71 lakh this June. The figures are even lower than the 26.50 lakh passengers it ferried this May.
The lowest dip has been witnessed on Line 2 (HUDA City Centre-Samaypur Badli), where the daily ridership has fallen by 21.70 lakh between June 2016 and June 2017, followed by 15.17 lakh on Line 34 (Dwarka Sector 21-Noida City Centre Vaishali) and 8.43 lakh on Line 1 (Rithala-Dilshad Garden).
The only corridor that has seen a rise in the footfall is Line 6 (Escorts Mujesar Kashmere Gate), where 3.74 lakh passengers have been added between June 2016 and June 2017. But the reason here is the recent extension of the corridor from ITO to Kashmere Gate, which meant not only addition of more areas but also shifting of many passengers from Line 2.
The 5% dip appears to be a fallout of the first fare hike since 2009. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had said a hike was necessary keeping in mind the rise in input costs. The minimum fare has been increased from Rs 8 to Rs 10 while the maximum one has gone up from Rs 30 to Rs 50. The second phase of the hike is to be implemented from October.
DMRC, however, is not worried about the dip. “Variation of ridership on Delhi Metro is in the range of around 1-5 % for all three months. In fact, in May this year, when fares were revised, the ridership showed an increase vis-avis May 2016,” a spokesperson said. “This much variation is considered natural for any given month or period as in a 218km network, a fluctuation in the ridership is dependent on multiple factors such as season, vacation, strike or agitation for significant days, festival rush.”
Delhi Metro, he added, is registering an increase in total passenger distance travelled by the commuters in all these months. In April June 2017, the average distance travelled by a Metro passenger has increased from 16.41-16.49km to 16.59km. “This increase in the average trip length per passenger indicates that people are now using public transport to travel a longer distance,” he said.
Bureau Report
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