HYDERABAD: Looks like frequently travelling in the Hyderabad Metro will get passengers quirky perks, including personalised metro cards that have the passenger’s picture and name on it. In an effort to identify and acknowledge their loyal commuters, Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) is giving out personalised metro cards to select commuters with the most trips over a selected period of time.
On Monday, Twitter was abuzz after Prathyusha Parakala, a well-known radio jockey, shared a picture of her personalised Nebula metro card. What followed was a series of tweets enquiring about how passengers can get one for themselves, and if this card had any added special privileges.
Speaking to Express, Prathyusha explained, “I am not sure why I was given the card or what it does differently, but a couple of days back, metro officials from Ameerpet station called and asked me to pick up a special metro card.”
According to L&T HMRL spokesperson, “We have identified a few customers who regularly travel with us. They largely participate in our customer felicitation programmes because of their high usage in the metro each month.”
He added, “This was a special way to thank them. As per our marketing initiative, we have given a photo sticker which can be pasted on their existing card. There are no additional features with this card. These cards would work the same way as the usual classic card.”
The step comes as a breath of fresh air considering the HMRL has been constantly receiving flak from commuters on Twitter. Commuters often complain regarding the low frequency of trains, multiple technical glitches leading to delays at peak hours, and lack of crowd management at popular metro stations.