Happy news for Kochiites as Metro ride set to become cheaper
KOCHI: In what could be termed as happy news for Kochiites, KMRL has decided to reduce fare structure for Metro travel. As per the decision taken a day ahead of the inauguration of the Metro stretch from Thykoodam to Petta, the maximum fare for travelling in metro will be Rs 50 — a reduction of Rs 10 from the earlier fare of Rs 60.With the new fare coming into effect from Monday, there will be only four rates in the new fare structure compared to the five-slab fare structure. The revised rates are Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 30 and Rs 50.
As per the newly introduced fare structure, a person can travel up to five stations for Rs 20, 12 stations for Rs 30 and beyond 12 stations at the rate of Rs 50.
Besides providing a discount of 10 per cent for all Kochi1 cardholders, KMRL also decided to reduce the fare for weekday and weekend passes. Earlier it was Rs 125 for weekday pass while the new rate is Rs 110. For weekend pass the earlier rate was Rs 250 and the new one is Rs 220.“We considered the Covid scenario before taking a decision to revise the fare structure. We at KMRL always vouch for providing seamless connectivity to the people of Kochi. We have classified the rates to slabs so that passengers get maximum benefit,” said Alkesh Kumar Sharma IAS, MD, KMRL.
Clearing the uncertainty over the expiry of Kochi1 card, the MD said the old card will be replaced with a new one without charging any issuance fee. “We have received requests from Kochi1 cardholders with regard to the existing balance and validity period. We examined it and decided to extend the validity by issuing new cards. For those whose card validity has expired, we will give them a new card without any issuance fee and the balance of the expired card will be transferred to the new one later.
Balance amount in the old card will be transferred to the new card so that no one will lose money due to lockdown,” he said.Meanwhile, the KMRL conducted a trial run along the three-km-long stretch from Thykoodam to Petta. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the new stretch on Monday through a virtual platform.