BENGALURU: Namma Metro will shortly launch two initiatives to boost its ridership during weekends: special family tickets and flat fare for non-peak hours. The date for the launch is yet to be finalised. The average daily ridership during weekdays is around 3.65 lakh commuters while it goes down to 3.15 lakh commuters during weekends.
BMRCL Managing Director Mahendra Jain told The New Indian Express, “We are considering introducing family tickets over the weekends to encourage leisure travel. Any group of four or more could be considered a family to avoid confusion.”“The weekend ridership across the world tends to be lesser than weekday ridership, and it was not affecting Bengaluru Metro alone,” he pointed out.
Another move to be tried out on an experimental basis during weekends is the introduction of a flat fare, say `20, between any two stations between 5am and 10 am and 8pm till it closes.Flat fare system but at a higher price had been introduced by BMRCL during IPL matches in the past in order to prevent crowding at its counters.The ridership sometimes gets affected due to other external circumstances too, Jain added. In May, weekend ridership dipped further probably due to the inclement weather. BMRCL was also looking at enhancing its last mile connectivity from its Metro stations too, the MD said.
With many commuters not aware that Metro operates till late night, BMRCL has now started beaming on the display boards of all its Metro stations that trains can be taken from Kempe Gowda Metro station up to 11.20 pm.
No leave for staff from Monday
In view of the strike call from June 4, BMRCL has issued orders that staff in both the Projects as well as Operations and Maintenance Wing cannot take leave from May 28, an official source. “The Labour Commission has called BMRCL management and Bangalore Metro Rail Employees Union for talks on May 30,” said Suryanarayana Murthy, vice-president of the Union. Its office at Gorguntapalya had conducted talks between the two groups during the strike call given last time. The High Court hearing relating to imposition of ESMA Act on three Metro employees who took part in a flash strike is slated for hearing on May 29. The Union leader said they intend to go on strike until their demands, including hiking salaries on par with Delhi Metro, are not met.