Kochi: The Board of Directors meeting of Kochi Metro Rail Limited to be held in New Delhi on Wednesday will take a final decision on the Metro ticket fares. The meeting will be chaired by Rajiv Gauba, secretary, Ministry of Urban Development. Officials at KMRL told DC that finalizing ticket charges was one of the agendas of the board meeting. Dismissing apprehensions of the public over exorbitant ticket fares on the Metro Rail, KMRL sources indicated that it would be a low-cost, high-speed transit mode, with the fare being on par with that of the KURTC (Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation) AC Volvo buses.
Though the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, the consultant appointed by KMRL to prepare a fare structure suggested Rs 15 as the minimum fare for a 2 kilometre distance, KMRL wants the minimum charge to be Rs 10. In most of the other Metros in the country, the minimum fare is Rs 10 while in Kolkata it is only Rs 5. The IIM suggested Rs 65 as the fare to travel the 25-km-long Aluva-Pettah corridor, during peak hours.
“The ticket fare will be fixed based on the specific features of the city, passenger movement, ticket rate of various other modes of transport etc. Charges at other Metro systems in the country will also be considered. However, the general mandate for fare-fixation will be more or less the same as KURTC Volvo,” sources said. KMRL authorities are expecting that a considerable per cent of commuters from the northern parts of the district who are now depending on KSRTC fast and superfast bus services to reach the city, would migrate to the Metro. “If the Metro ticket fare is fixed on par with KSRTC Volvo bus charges, they will definitely shift to the Metro,” KMRL sources added.
