Delhi Metro Ridership Dips by 3 Lakh Between September and October; DMRC Says Fare Hike Not The Reason - JPKee.com

New Delhi, Nov 25: The Delhi Metro’s average ridership fell from from 27.4 lakh to 24.2 lakh between September and October after Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) implemented the second phase of fare hike on October 10, a reply to an RTI query said. On the other hand, the DMRC has another story to tell.

The RTI reply reveals that it is the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro, that runs between Noida City Centre/Vaishali and Dwarka which has lost most number of passengers. Notably, this route is the busiest amongst all the other sections of the DMRC. As per DMRC’s quarterly ridership figures, the daily average ridership of Delhi Metro went down by 1.5 lakh after the first fare hike was introduced in May.

Meanwhile, the DMRC has claimed in a statement that fare hike is not the sole reason behind the drop in the number of ridership. “The drop in ridership in the month of October 2017 is not solely attributable to increase in fares, as there are otherwise monthly variations noted throughout the year. In the month of October, there were five Sundays in comparison to September with four (Sundays), where ridership is around 60-70% of the working day ridership… October started with a long weekend/extended holidays due to Dussehra falling on September 30, followed by Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. The month also witnessed extended weekends/holidays due to festivals of Diwali, Chhath Pooja, Bhai Duj, Goverdhan, etc, DMRC said while adding that the ridership after the fare revision for many days was actually higher than the ridership before the fare revision.

Adding further, the authority said, “In the year 2016 also, the ridership dipped by 1.3 lakh between September and October despite no change in the fare structure. Ridership in the month of November 2017 has shown rising trend.”

From October 1, the fare of the Delhi Metro is: up to 2 kms — Rs 10, 2 to 5 kms — Rs 20, 5 to 12 kms — Rs 30, 12 to 21 kms — Rs 40, 21 to 32 kms — Rs 50 and for journeys of over 32 kms Rs 60. When metro had started operations on December 25, 2002, the minimum fare was Rs 4 and maximum was Rs 8.

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Author - Vikash Kumar