Pune Metro Sees 5 Lakh Passenger Drop in November Due to Holiday Break
Pune Metro Sees 5 Lakh Passenger Drop in November Due to Holiday Break
In November, metro ridership experienced a notable decline, dropping by nearly 500,000 passengers from 48 .1 lakhs in October to 43 lakhs. Officials attributed this decrease to the Diwali holiday break and the temporary closure of educational institutions, which eased concerns about the overall popularity of the metro system.
A representative from Maha Metro clarified that this drop was only temporary. They highlighted that there were several days in November when ridership on the Vanaz-Ramwadi and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)-Swargate routes fell below 100,000. “Many daily commuters on the Metro are students, and during the first two weeks of November, schools and colleges were either closed or operating at limited capacity, which had a significant effect on ridership,” the official explained.
In response to worries about a declining trend in metro usage, another official mentioned that ridership began to increase in the last week of November and into early December. “Foot traffic started to rise again, and daily ridership has already reached 140,000 in the first five days of December as schools, colleges, and offices returned to full operation,” the official said.
To encourage more students to use the metro, Maha Metro has launched the “Vidyarthi” card, which provides discounted fares for students who buy tickets using this card. So far, over 15,000 of these student cards have been distributed, as reported by Maha Metro.
Looking to the future, officials are feeling positive. An official from Maha Metro stated, “We aim to achieve a daily ridership of 200,000 passengers in the upcoming months.” However, regular commuters pointed out that improving last-mile connectivity is crucial for increasing daily usage. “While metro authorities are working to enhance connectivity, there is still a lot more to be done to make it truly accessible,” one commuter noted.
