Bengaluru: Across the city many Bengalureans on Saturday took a ride on South India’s first underground metro line. According to the officials from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) many residents and tourists availed the service.
Abdul Rahim, who was in the city with his wife Yufsia and two children to take metro ride said, “I live in Dubai and my family lives in Kerala. We came here on a holiday and got to know about the metro’s underground line inauguration and chose to experience it. I must say the infrastructure provided here is very similar to Dubai. Excellent experience.”
Essa who works in Vasanth Nagar also came with his family and children to experience the ride. His son Kaif (13) said, “It is very joyful and this is my first metro ride. I am enjoying it.”
“Most of them were asking for a ticket to the last stop either Baiyappanahalli or Mysuru road. They just wanted to experience metro ride especially the underground stretch.
Steep rise in ridership
The total ridership on east-west corridor on Saturday was 90,482 as against an average of 20,000-22,000 from MG Road to Byappanahalli and Magadi Road to Mysore Road.
The total revenue generated on the first day of the opening of the east-west corridor was Rs 35 lakh. As for the frequency, from 8 am to 2 pm it was one train every 10 minutes, from 2 pm to 8 pm it was eight minutes, from 8 pm to 8.30 pm it was 10 minutes and from 8.30 pm to 10 pm it was 15 minutes.
Cheaper than AC buses, cabs
The cost of the Metro is said to be cheaper than BMTC AC buses and cabs. The fares range from Rs 10 to Rs 40 from East to West. Krishna Reddy, a 64-year-old farmer, clad in his traditional attire said, “We are here to visit High Court for some work and we chose Metro as it is less time consuming and cheaper. I paid just Rs 13 to travel in the air conditioned Metro to reach here.”
Boon for Soudha, HC employees
BMRCL officials said that many High court and Vidhan Soudha employees, residing in Vijayanagar and Rajajinagar areas, took the metro to reach their offices on Saturday morning.
Wheelchairs for senior citizens
The BMRCL provides assistance to senior citizens as the staff have been trained to help those in need. Also, the metro stations are equipped with wheelchairs. “We have laid special tiles across the Metro station for blind which lead them directly to the platform from the entrance,” said a BMRCL official.
Elaborate checks
For those carrying a heavy baggage, the security checks would be time consuming. A passenger has to go through a metal detector, a security check and baggage have to be sent through the scanners.
