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March 28, 2023Kochi metro’s trip passes have few takers, reveals RTI query
Lizbeth Jibi Godwin, Associate-Research, CPPR, comments on the article "Kochi metro’s trip passes have few takers, reveals RTI query". The article was first published in THE HINDU on March 21, 2023.
Disconnect with commuters comes even as the metro is struggling to meet the daily target of one-lakh commuters
Student passes and other discount options in the Kochi metro are yet to find adequate takers among students and other commuters, a Right to Information (RTI) query has revealed.
This disconnect with commuters comes even as the metro is struggling to meet the daily target of one-lakh commuters. The trip passes with substantial discounts were announced during the past couple of years to woo commuters to the system of mass rapid transport, daily patronage of which hovered at approximately 70,000. It improved marginally to around 80,000 in the December-January festive-cum-peak-tourist season.
The average daily patronage is still less than a fourth of the estimated patronage mentioned in the metro’s detailed project report (DPR) readied by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). It had been attributed mainly due to inadequate last-mile feeder network and Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) being unable to communicate the discounted trip card options to commuters, said D.G. Suresh, an office-bearer of Ernakulam District Residents Associations’ Apex Council (EDRAAC).
“It is not enough that KMRL announces an array of discounted trip cards. The agency must proactively reach out to commuters and inform them of the options. This is sadly missing, even as substantial space on metro pillars has been taken over by advertisements. EDRAAC had many times offered to help promote the metro, provided space was made available at metro stations,” he added.
Lizbeth Godwin, a researcher in urban mobility at the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) and a regular metro commuter, echoed a similar view. “I use Kochi-1 transit card and also its app. But there are often problems associated with scanning the QR code in the app owing to glitches. This results in commuters having to pay in cash, which passengers, mainly youth who opt for digital payments, might not be having.”
The worst part is that most youngsters are unaware of trip card discounts and the QR code scanning options. KMRL must reach out to commuters, especially since it was struggling to attract commuters, while also incurring loss to the tune of ₹1 crore a day, she added.
Ebenser Chullikkat, who filed the RTI application in February to assess the patronage for trip cards, said smart card use was on the wane in the metro, with many commuters still using paper tickets. “Even worse, only 758 students in the entire Greater Kochi area availed the ₹900 student monthly pass in January, using which they could travel unlimited trips in the metro. This is because students generally need only to-and-fro trips, for which a lesser fare ought to be fixed. Similarly, the metro agency must give deep discount monthly pass to students from financially backward families.”
Only 2,532 of the ₹125 single-day passes, a pitiable five unlimited journey weekend passes worth ₹230, a total of 69 seven-day passes worth ₹550, and forty-eight 30-day passes worth ₹2,200 were issued in January. All this is in stark contrast with many other metros which offer deep discounts and lucky-dip gifts. KMRL must also introduce National Common Mobility Card, he said.
KMRL sources said the metro agency had begun an initiative to reach out to commuters by displaying details of discounted trip cards in stations and on a few pillars in the metro corridor. “They are also available on the website. We are also reaching out to schools and colleges so that the offers are posted on their notice boards. Similarly, EDRAAC office-bearers have agreed to share details in neighbourhood WhatsApp groups,” they added.
