BENGALURU: The average daily ridership on the Metro is expected to witness a massive jump from the current 1.8 lakh to five lakh passengers once Phase-1 is fully operational. To ensure better footfalls, regular commuters feel Metro should increase frequency of services during peak hours and operate from 5am to 12am, increase the number of coaches and have exclusive coaches for women.
The BMTC too will have to work in tandem, ensuring better frequency of feeder buses, they feel.
“I am not using the Metro for two reasons — early suspension of service and inadequate parking spaces at stations. For instance, there is no Metro services after 10pm from Cubbon Park station to go to Indiranagar. Ideally, they should operate at least till 11:30pm,” felt Shalini Kumar, a private firm employee. She says most of the trains are running full during peak hours because of the four-minute intervals. “They should increase the frequency of the service once the entire Phase-1 is operational”.
BMRCL officials said they have provided parking spaces in stations where they have have adequate land. “We will increase the frequency and also extend the deadline for night services based on demand,” said a senior BMRCL official.
Though the traffic police are also pushing a proposal to restrict inter-state buses from entering the city once the entire Phase-1 is operational, commuters point out that most buses are leaving or arriving in the city during early or late hours when there are no Metro services.
BMRCL officials said they will reserve a coach for women once the number of coaches is increased from three to six.
BMTC officials said 100 buses will be introduced once Phase-1 becomes fully operational. “We have asked BMRCL to provide parking space and bus bays for our feeder buses. They have not provided adequate parking spaces at most stations,” a BMTC official said.