CHENNAI: The cab service provided by the Chennai Metro Rail has come as a relief for several commuters struggling with last-mile connectivity problems. However, those without a Metro travel card are unable to access this facility. Parking and feeder services such as share autos, share taxis, and cabs can be availed only if a passenger has purchased the card, which puts one-time commuters at disadvantage. “On my way to office, my two-wheeler suddenly had a flat tyre. Thankfully, this happened very close to Central metro station. But, as I do not use the metro often I did not have a metro card. Because of this, I could not park my bike or use the feeder service to reach office,” said Sridhar N of Washermanpet.
In 2018, feeder services were introduced to drop commuters from select stations to their destinations within a radius of five to six kilometres. A flat rate of `10 is being charged for this. But, due to lack of information at exit points of the station, many passengers are confused about how to use the service.
Metro rail staff said that many commuters have raised a complaint about this to the customer service, the issue has not been taken seriously by the management till date. “There are many loopholes in this payment system. Many drivers who are part of the feeder system pocket money from commuters who are unaware of the payment method. They make `500-`1,000 a day this way,” said a staff, who preferred anonymity.
Other commuters also said they found glitches while tracking cabs, share autos and taxis through online Commuter App. Many said they had to wait for a long time as the app did not provide real-time localisation of cab, taxi or auto. Such problems happen during parking vehicles as well. Contract employees at the parking lots of metro stations collect parking fee from unaware passengers. This money does not go to the management, said metro rail staff.
“Three months ago, a contract employee in Washermanpet station absconded with around `2 lakhs. He had collected `2,500 from many passengers for the monthly parking pass”, said another staff.Also, in many crowded localities such as Egmore, Washermanpet, Alandur and Airport, vehicles of non-passengers are parked in the station parking lot. Due to this, passengers do not find space to park their vehicles.
“The management is planning to close Washermanpet station parking lot as many tourist cabs owned by local politicians are parked here. This is becoming an issue in other stations also,” a staff said.A metro rail official said “We introduced all feeder services only for the use of regular passengers. One-time and occasional users can purchase the travel card for `50 and get a refund later if they do not use it in future. Otherwise this system will continue to be in place.”