Delhi Metro lost over three lakh commuters a day after a steep fare hike came into effect on October 10, an RTI query has revealed.
The Delhi Metro’s ridership saw a slump in October after a steep fare hike came into effect, according to the records of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
The Delhi Metro lost three lakh commuters a day after the fare hike that came into effect on October 10, the DMRC said in response to a Right To Information (RTI) query filed by news agency PTI.
The daily average ridership on 218-km network came down to 24.2 lakh in October from 27.4 lakh in September, translating to a fall of around 11 per cent, PTI reported.
The Blue Line, considered the metro's busiest, lost over 30 lakh riders in a month, according to data shared by the DMRC. The 50-km corridor connects Dwarka in South West Delhi to Noida.
DMRC said that Yellow Line, another busy corridor which connects Gurgaon to north Delhi's Samaypur Badli, lost over over 19 lakh commuuters in terms of absolute numbers.
Ridership on the Violet Line, which connects ITO in Central Delhi to Faridabad, plunged by 11.9 lakh in October.
The Red Line connecting Dilshad Garden to Rithala also lost 7.5 lakh riders.
Ridership has come down several notches below the numbers observed in recent years, bucking a trend of rise on the back of the launch of newer sections.
In October 2016, the metro's daily average ridership was also 27.2 lakh, despite a comparatively shorter operational route.
Earlier, the fare hike in May had also also caused a loss of nearly 1.5 lakh passengers per day in June. However, the DMRC had attributed the reduction in ridership, by up to 5 per cent, as “natural”.
The hike on October 10, which came barely five months after the last one, affects every commuter of the Metro who travels beyond 5 km, while journeys falling in the 2-5 km distance slab cost Rs 5 more.
The revised fare structure after the fare hike is: up to 2 km -- Rs 10, 2 to 5 km -- Rs 20, 5 to 12 km -- Rs 30, 12 to 21 km -- Rs 40, 21 to 32 km -- Rs 50 and for journeys beyond 32 km -- Rs 60.
The implementation of the fare hike had caused a tussle between the Centre and the Delhi government which opposed the move.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government has mounted a stiff opposition to the hike, leading to a confrontation with the Centre.
DMRC and Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri had supported the move, rejecting strong opposition by the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government.
Commenting on the RTI revelation, Kejriwal tweeted, “That many passengers have taken to other means of tpt, thus increasing pollution n congestion on roads. Metro fare hike has not benefitted anyone.”
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