Masses choose Metro over cars

With fuel prices on the rise, more people are choosing to take the Metro over their cars. Thanks to the recently hiked price of petrol in the Capital, Metro ridership grew by more than half a lakh commuters in the past few days.

With fuel prices on the rise, more people are choosing to take the Metro over their cars. Thanks to the recently hiked price of petrol in the Capital, Metro ridership grew by more than half a lakh commuters in the past few days.

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Unlike past years, when Metro ridership usually shows a decline because of courts closing and summer vacation in educational institutes, this summer has been different.

Since the hike in petrol price on Sunday, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) registered an approximate increase of 55,000 in its ridership on weekdays.

"There is a sudden boost to the Metro ridership, and we attribute this to the hike in the price of petrol," said a senior DMRC official.

"As commuters realise how much they can save by choosing public transportation, Metro — the best mode of public transport — is expected to get further boost to its ridership in days to come."

The average ridership on the week days from May 4 to May 13 last Friday was 15,25,564. The highest ridership during the period was registered on May 9 at 15,68,968.

After petrol price hit an all-time high of nearly R65 a litre on May 15, ridership on Metro from the next day registered an average increase of nearly.

"After the price rise, the average ridership of weekdays between Monday and Wednesday has been 15,80,359, which is an increase of 54,795 commuters. The highest ridership was recorded on Monday at 16,27,175 — one of the highest ever recorded in Delhi Metro's history," said Anuj Dayal, DMRC spokesperson.

The maximum ridership was registered at the two important and busy Metro stations — Rajiv Chowk and Anand Vihar ISBT. Rajiv Chowk registered an average increase of 770 commuters in the four days. Anand Vihar registered an increase of 1416 commuters from 23,676 to 25,092.