Enthusiastic commuters thronged Namma Metro stations to experience joy rides on the new train service in Bangalore city on the second day on Friday.
Though the trains crisscrossing the city’s landmark localities were not actually meant for joy rides, there will hardly be any complaints from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) as ticket counters looked busy on the second day running.
Euphoria over metro ride was obvious as queues overshot ticket counters at M G Road and Baiyappanahalli stations.
If the desolate look on Halasuru, Vivekananda Road and Trinity stations was any evidence, riders showed no sign of alighting the trains en route the two destinations.
That would hardly disappoint BMRCL, which needs to collect Rs 6 lakh per day to meet its costs, including staff salary, security and power. The first day it got Rs 7.53 lakh from 38,546 commuters. The corporation operated 45 trains and stretched its services beyond 10 pm.
By 7 pm on Friday, 39,639 people had commuted on the metro, providing a revenue of Rs 6.94 lakh.
Aware that the revenue may dip once the initial enthusiasm wears off, the BMRCL is currently trying to make the most of the interest shown by first-timers on the trains. There is, therefore, no talk on consistent revenue or breaking even for the time being.
If the commuter turnout remains strong, the BMRCL is prepared to operate additional services on Sundays and on Deepavali. Also on the corporation’s agenda is a train every eight minutes instead of the current 10 minutes, during peak hours on holidays.
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