Although Mumbai Monorail is failing to get serious commuters, it has become popular among tourists and schoolchildren. For passengers of 'Mumbai Darshan' buses and schoolchildren on picnic a monorail ride has become a part of their itinerary.
Being India's first such transportation system, Mumbai Monorail is certainly popular among the joyriders not only in Mumbai but also for those residing in other cities. That is the reason behind tourists ensuring that they include Mumbai Monorail in their itinerary or must visit places in the metropolis.
"On weekends, there are bus full of tourists coming to Wadala depot monorail station to take a ride. They purchase tickets for Chembur and return to Wadala Depot," said a source.
However, only one of the 'Mumbai Darshan' groups had officially intimated Scomi about such a visit. As a measure of hospitality, the operation team of Scomi deputes additional staff for the comfort of the group.
Similarly, schoolchildren too are lining up in their uniforms with excitement to take a ride on the 8.93-km route.
"In the last three months or so we have had about 8,000-10,000 schoolchildren visiting Mumbai Monorail to experience the ride," said Meena Kanthaswamy, head of corporate communications in Scomi.
During the initial few weeks after Mumbai Monorail's inauguration, India's first monorail was very popular among Mumbaikars. In fact, on the first day, a couple of services had even reached crush-load — the maximum number of passengers travelling in a coach, which exceeds the total permitted load.
However, now the daily passenger figures are abysmally low and due to this the revenue from ticketing is way below the operational expenditure. Thus, the corridor is making losses. But the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is hopeful that the numbers would pick up substantially once the second phase between Wadala Depot and Jacob Circle (Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk) is ready by December 2015.
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