BENGALURU: Namma Metro has breached the two lakh commuter mark for the first time since it commenced operations five years ago, thanks largely to revellers who thronged pubs along the MG Road stretch hopping on to the Metro.
According to the Chief Public Relations Officer of BMRCL, the ridership on Saturday continuing into Sunday was 2,09,732.
The previous highest ridership of 1,97,928 was recorded on July 28, 2016 during a bus strike.
Metro had extended its regular operations up to 2 am on Sunday to help people reach their homes after partying, as is the norm every year. Due to the opening of the underground corridor on April 30, 2016, and the extended reach it enjoys now, its patronage soared between MG Road and Baiyappanahalli (Purple Line or Line 1).
According to Chief PRO, the four-hour extension in timings alone benefited 33,106 commuters. During the regular timings from 6 am to 10 pm, 1, 26, 890 commuters had used the Metro. As a result, nearly 1, 59,996 commuters travelled by it, a record patronage for Line 1. These figures were recorded on average Metro operations on both Purple Line and Green Line (Mantri Sampige Road to Nagasandra).
The response, however, was muted during the extended timings on the Green Line with just 1,747 opting to travel during the late hours. The regular operations on this line is run between 5 am and 11 pm.
However, the ridership during regular hours touched an unprecedented high, touching an overall figure of 49,736 commuters for this stretch.
A similar extra run of services on Christmas eve saw it register an additional 5,261 passengers which fetched an additional revenue of ` 1 lakh.