It seems Amdavadis have taken the auto-rickshaw fare hike pretty seriously.
If the figures of sudden increase of 7,000 passengers using the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in last three days along the 17-km stretch from RTO to Pushpakunj are takeninto account, it means citizens have started using public transport for long trips.
During the last three days when the increase in auto-rickshaw fares came into effect, BRTS ferried an additional 7,000 passengers. The numbers rose to 42,099 on Sunday (February 7) from 36,238 on Friday (February 5). The AMTS officials said that there has been an increase of around 40,000 passengers after the auto-rickshaw fare hike. Usually, there is an increase of 3,000 passengers during weekends while around 35,000 passengers travel on weekdays, on the average.
"We have observed that people have restricted their use of auto-rickshaws for longer routes after the fare hike. Many have switched over to public transport for long distance journeys as it is cheaper," said Harihar Mishra, president of Amdavad Rickshaw Chalak Sangharsh Samiti.
BRTS's income has also significantly grown from Rs 1,81,189 to 2,10,497. Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL) officials said that they have benefited from the auto fare hike as 7,000 more commuters have hopped onto the BRTS.
They also added that after the extension of the BRTS route to Pushpakunj since December 25, Kankaria has also seen an increase of around 2,000 visitors. Kankaria Lake received 32,087 visitors on Sundays as compared to around 30,645 on December 20 — prior to the extension of BRTS route to Pushpakunj.
Traffic snarls on main roads is one reason why commuters have decided to leave their vehicles behind and opt for public transport.
"Last weekend my family preferred to travel in BRTS to go to Kankaria Lake. We did not want to travel in a two-wheeler because of traffic jams and also because of the hike in the auto fare," said Amisha, a professional who stays at Shivranjani. She said that BRTS costs her Rs42 for three, which would have been a one-way auto fare from Shivranjini to Pushpakunj.
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