KOCHI: With the non-ticketing revenue touching nearly Rs 50 crore since the launch of its commercial services a year ago, the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) is planning more such projects for revenue generation.
KMRL launched the commercial operation on June 17, 2017. Till October 2018, its ticketing revenue stood at Rs 55.90 crore, while non-ticketing revenue was Rs 49.58 crore.
According to KMRL managing director A P M Mohammed Hanish, the agency is planning more projects to increase non-ticketing revenue. These include the plans to set up a four-star hotel as well as the property development at Kakkanad. Most of the property development projects are planned during the Phase II of extension.
The co-branding of the stations, the advertisements on Metro pillars and leasing of spaces in stations are other sources of non-ticketing revenue. In 2017-18, Kochi Metro was able to get nearly Rs 6 crore through the display of advertisements on pillars.
Similar to open bus booking system, Kochi Metro is planning to tie up with online booking sites/apps to popularise metro tickets.
Kochi1 card
KMRL is also planning to popularise the Kochi1 card. The card, co-branded by Axis Bank, can be used for shopping and travel in feeder services of Metro. However, out of the total passengers who have purchased the Kochi1 card, only 20 per cent use it for regular travel in Metro.