BENGALURU: With Namma Metro continuing to accept the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations for topping up its ‘Contactless Smart Cards’, the past one week has seen Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) witness an unprecedented surge in ticket revenue collection.
The Purple Line (Baiyappanahalli to Mysore Road) and the Green Line (Mantri Square Sampige Road to Nagasandra) together average between 1.6 to 1.7 lakh commuters a day. The combined revenue collection ranges between Rs 34 to Rs 36 lakh per day.
Speaking to Express, General Manager (Finance & Taxation) U A Vasanth Rao said, “During the last week, we have got an additional revenue of Rs 12 lakh average collection per day on the Purple Line and over one lakh rupees as average extra collection on the Green Line.” The regular collection on Line 1 (Purple) averages between Rs 26 and Rs 27 lakh and between eight and nine lakh rupees on Line 2, he informed.
“On the first day (November 9) after the demonetisation announcement, BMRCL netted an additional revenue of Rs 20 lakh on the Purple Line,” Rao said. In the subsequent days, the increase touched Rs 15 lakh, Rs 12 lakh for a few days and now hovers around Rs 10 lakh, he added. Barring the Sunday and holiday, the upward trend in revenue continued.
What is noteworthy is that though BMRCL permits a maximum currency top up worth Rs 1,500 on its Smart cards, this amount was reduced to Rs 1,000 during the past one week. New Smart cards were also not being issued, Rao informed.
‘Reduction in commuters negligible’
A few metro stations did appear to be far less crowded than the norm. When asked about statistics in this connection, the GM said, “The reduction in commuters is negligible.”