In a first, Bengaluru metro’s monthly ridership crosses 2 crore; up 30% in just a year

Bengaluru: Bengaluru metro trains ferried a record 6.88 lakh passengers on average per day in December as passenger numbers reached two crores per month for the very first time. 

Data provided by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) shows 2,13,34,076 people travelled by the metro last month, or an average of 6,88,196 daily. The BMRCL earned nearly Rs 55 crore in fare revenue. 

Overall, the metro ridership rose by nearly 30% within a year. In January 2023, the average ridership stood at 5.32 lakh. 

The average daily ridership has now risen by 64,000 since the Purple Line fully opened three months ago. Nevertheless, it’s still lower than the 75,000-1 lakh increase that the BMRCL had expected. 

On October 9, the BMRCL opened the Baiyappanahalli-KR Pura (2.1 km) and Kengeri-Challaghatta (2.05 km) sections, expanding the Purple Line to 43.49 km and linking the standalone Whitefield stretch to the rest of the metro network. 

This immediately boosted the ridership, which rose to 6,40,441 in October and 6,64,048 in November. 

Analysts believe daily ridership didn’t reach 7 lakh because of the long holidays in December but would cross the mark in January. 

Many commuters say the metro is getting way too crowded, especially during peak hours, and they have to skip several trains before they can board. 

During peak hours on Monday, trains were unusually jam-packed between the CBD and Majestic. The BMRCL ran Green Line trains on the Purple Line but that didn’t help much. 

The BMRCL cannot deploy more trains on the Purple Line until late 2024 when it expects to receive new coaches from China’s CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd. The Chinese company is to deliver 216 coaches to the BMRCL. 

The BMRCL has dedicated 33 six-coach trainsets for the Purple Line and  24 for the Green Line. 

Row over Biocon name to Hebbagodi station

Residents of Hebbagodi a suburb in southern Bengaluru protested against naming their upcoming metro station after pharmaceutical company Biocon.  Munikrishna N a member of the Hebbagodi Municipal Council (CMC) suggested that the BMRCL had “hurt” the local villagers’ self-respect by naming the metro station after Biocon.  Once a sleepy village Hebbagodi has grown rapidly because of its location on Hosur Road. It was upgraded to CMC in 2015. 

In 2020 the BMRCL signed an agreement with Biocon headquartered near Hebbagodi to christen the metro station ‘Biocon Hebbagodi Metro Station’. The company has contributed Rs 65 crore to the construction of the metro station.  There was no controversy over the decision back then. It started only recently after the BMRCL installed the station’s name board.  The 19.15-km RV Road-Bommasandra line of which Hebbagodi is a part is to open later this year.