Phase 2 adds only 15,000 daily riders to Rapid Metro

GURUGRAM: Rapid Metro has seen only a marginal rise in its daily ridership — from an approximate 35,000 a year ago to an average of 50,000 now — even more than a year after its second phase became operational.
According to officials, the rise is insignificant considering Rapid Metro (phases 1 and 2 combined) passes through corporate hub Cyber City and dense residential areas along Golf Course Road, and also provides an interchange at Sikanderpur Metro station for commuters to DMRC’s Yellow line.

The authorities claimed the two rounds of fare hike effected by DMRC in May and October last year negatively impacted the footfall of commuters. Further, the proposed phase 3, which is expected to boost the Rapid Metro’s overall ridership, is also stuck in the pipeline due to a delay in finalising the route for a Metro link between Gurugram and Dwarka.

In addition, the state government is yet to grant approval for using parking spaces available at various Rapid Metro stations — a delay that, officials claim, is also discouraging a large number of commuters from using the service.

Rapid Metro phase 1 was rolled out in November 2013, expecting a ridership of one lakh daily. However, the daily average hovered between 30,000 and 35,000.

The authorities then expected the average ridership to go up significantly after the launch of the 6.3km-long phase 2 that stretches along busy Golf Course Road. It was launched in March 2017, and was formally inaugurated by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on May 2 last year. But during the first year of its operation, the phase 2 has managed to bring only an additional 20,000 commuters aboard.

However, a spokesperson for the Rapid Metro claimed there had been a ‘healthy growth’ in the ridership since the launch of phase 2. “The total ridership of the system is in the range of 50,000–55,000. Since the launch of phase 2, we have seen a healthy growth in the overall ridership, especially in the newly opened sections of the Rapid Metro despite two rounds of fare hike,” he claimed.

The spokesperson, however, admitted that the delay in creating parking facilities — proposed at Sector 42-43 and Sector 53-54 stations, each having a capacity to accommodate 400 cars — had adversely impacted the ridership.

“We have not received approval on proposed parking spaces so far from the state authorities. There is also a need for corporates to now ‘walk the talk’ and adopt public transport en masse. We have already made arrangements for last-mile connectivity and we will ramp up the services as demand increases,” the spokesperson added.

The proposed phase 3 is yet to take a concrete shape apparently due to a delay in the proposed Gurugram-Dwarka Metro link.

Last October, authorities had prepared a route map for the phase 3. According to the plan, the phase 3 would start at Sikanderpur station, which is part of the already operational Rapid Metro phase 1 and phase 2 and also acts as the interchange halt for commuters of the Yellow line. It would then cross the NH-8 at Iffco Chowk and stretch along Sheetla Mata Road, before finally meeting the proposed Dwarka-Gurugram Metro line at Gurgaon railway station.

“Our network extension plans can be pushed only once the government finalizes the extension of DMRC line into Gurugram. Because it (DMRC line) will have a significant impact on the (Rapid Metro) ridership and ensure viability of the proposed extension of our service,” said the spokesperson.