Metro ridership rising, but nowhere near target

Nagpur: MahaMetro managing director Brijesh Dixit had set an ambitious daily ridership target of Nagpur Metro at one lakh. While the ridership is gradually increasing, the present figures are nowhere near the target. On weekdays, it is between 17,000 and 20,000, while on Sundays it is above 25,000.

On Republic Day, record number of Nagpurians — 56,441 — boarded the Metro.

Metro officials are, however, not disappointed with the ridership figures. “When we restarted Nagpur Metro in October after a prolonged lockdown, the ridership on weekdays was around 3,000. In February, the minimum ridership was above 17,000. This is significant increase,” said an official.

The ridership on weekdays in early January was between 10,000 and 12,000. The official said while many people boarded the Metro on Sundays for joyrides, the ridership on weekdays was due to regular users who take the Metro for going to their places of work or education.

“A good number of students have been using the Metro to reach their school. Right since the day schools restarted in Nagpur, long queues were witnessed on Metro stations as students lined up to purchase ticket,” he further said.

According to the official, various moves like allowing commuters to carry bicycle in train has helped in increasing the ridership. “Now e-scooters on hire, autorickshaws and e-rickshaws are available at all stations for last-mile connectivity. We have provided e-scooters for Metro employees at our office,” he added.

Meanwhile, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has improved its feeder bus service for the Metro. Now, buses connect Jaiprakash Nagar with Jaitala and Mhalgi Nagar, Ajni Square with Raghuji Nagar and Manewada, Khapri with Butibori, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Mulak College (Satgaon), Airport South with Shiv Elite Society (Shankarpur) and Beltarodi and Lokmanya Nagar with Hingna, Wadi T-point and GH Raisoni College.

About a month ago, 20 city buses used to halt near Sitabuldi interchange Metro station. However, on request of MahaMetro, traffic police closed the road between Rani Jhansi Square and Sitabuldi station. Now, the city buses no longer stop near the station. A Metro official said that one side of the road had already been opened and other side would be fully opened soon. “City buses will again stop near Sitabuldi station and this will further increase our ridership,” he added.