Ever since Namma Metro became operational nearly eight years ago, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. has sold 14 lakh smart cards, a majority of which were issued in the recent years.
Officials said the cards have been in great demand after the entire Phase 1 became operational in June 2017. On an average, ridership is around 3.9 lakh, indicating that many non-regular metro users prefer smart cards over tokens, said officials.
“Around 70% of commuters using Namma Metro are smart card holders. While once we sold 1,000-odd cards a day, it’s now 1,500 to 1,700, and on some days, it’s 2,000,” executive director (Operations and Maintenance) A.S. Shankar said.
BMRCL has been promoting the smart cards at all metro stations by putting up notices at ticket counters. “The card comes with a number of benefits: passengers can get a discount of 15%, and they need not queue up to buy tokens,” he added.
Metro passengers have been asking for a smart card that can be used on both Namma Metro and BMTC buses, but this has yet to take off. Sahana, a regular metro traveller said, “I use the metro till Baiyappanahalli and from there catch the BMTC bus to reach my workplace. If the authorities can work on a common mobility card, commuting in the city would be a better experience.”
Six-coach trains
The recent induction of two six-coach trains has helped the BMRCL clear the peak-hour rush, especially at Majestic metro station. “Morning and evening, we operate four rounds of six-coach trains. Now we see very few people at the platforms at the Majestic after the six-coach train leaves the station,” said Mr. Shankar.
He said the third six-car train was currently being assembled and trial runs were scheduled to start soon. By October-end, it will be inducted into the existing fleet. Ridership has increased from an average of 3.6 lakh to 3.9 lakh, and officials said one of the contributing factors was the six-coach trains, as it has a carrying capacity of 2,000.