Representative Image.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru metro's average daily ridership has risen in each of the last four months, reaching a record 6.11 lakh in July.
Patronage was so robust last month that more than 6.2 lakh people used the metro every day for 17 days. On average, 16 per cent more travellers used the metro in July than in January, data reviewed by DH shows.
DH Illustration
Ridership has consistently increased from April through July with each month registering higher numbers than the previous.
While Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) said the increased ridership indicated the metro's popularity as an "efficient and reliable" public transport system, a critic said Namma Metro was actually "underperforming".
A senior official at BMRCL said daily ridership was expected to reach 7.5 lakh once the 2.1-km KR Pura-Baiyappanahalli and 1.9-km Kengeri-Chellaghatta lines opened by August-end.
The BMRCL is currently running trial runs on both stretches.
"From just one line (MG Road-Baiyappanahalli) and a daily ridership of 35,000 to a 70-km-long network and over six lakh riders per day, Namma Metro has come a long way in the last 12 years," the official said, requesting anonymity.
Metro ridership has risen despite the free bus travel scheme for women, he pointed out. And the gains aren't just because of the KR Pura-Whitefield line, which opened in March and has been cut off from the rest of the network.
Prashanth Srinivas, an expert on mass rapid transit who runs the Catalytic Think Tank Forum, said Namma Metro could potentially serve 10.5 lakh people per day if the BMRCL recalibrated its operations.
He said the present metro headway was "erratic" and asked the BMRCL to rationalise it. "There's a big gap in headway between peak and non-peak hours. This is unacceptable," he added.
According to him, the metro must extend the timings, open all entry/exit points at all stations, and provide first- and last-mile connectivity through travelators and skywalks at busy junctions in the city.
The BMRCL, however, has no immediate plans to increase headway or timings.
A second official said the metro could serve 7.5 lakh people with existing timings and headway. "How can we increase the headway when demand isn't up to the mark?" he said.