Ahmedabad: The metro service still seems off the track on passenger numbers. On average, 1.18 lakh passengers take the metro daily within Ahmedabad city, and another 2,500 prefer using the service to go to Gandhinagar. Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) authorities are now pinning their hopes on the Sachivalaya route to boost passenger numbers. Trials runs on the route have begun.
Officials said the metro service saw highest ridership in Jan this year, when passenger numbers crossed 39.5 lakh, the highest so far for any month. The revenue for the month was an impressive Rs 4.71 crore. The high passenger numbers were due to the Coldplay concert, they said. The ridership in Ahmedabad in March 2024 was 26,99 lakah which grew to 35,53,000 in March 25.
Despite this good growth, the service is overall struggling to attract passengers despite several connecting routes. Trains are returning empty on a majority of these routes. Lack of parking slots around stations is deterring citizens from hopping on the metro, officials admit.
“I had gone to watch an IPL match at the Narendra Modi Stadium and found there was no parking at the metro station. I risked parking my vehicle in the open area at the old high court. The plot has no security or a pay-and-park facility. Many others too had parked there,” said Samyak Shah, a resident of Memnagar.
Aditya Patel, manager at a private bank, said authorities should have provided adequate parking along the routes so that people can park their vehicles and hop on to the metro. The rush during matches or events shows that people are willing to take the metro, but their are no support facilities. Patel said he was unaware that bus services from internal lanes to stations have started.
GMRC officials said the metro to Gandhinagar started last Sept, and the average ridership from the launch till Feb this year was around 2,000 per day. It was in March that it touched the 75,000-mark — with 2,500 passengers travelling to Gandhinagar every day.
In Feb, GMRC decided to start a direct train from APMC and Old High Court intersection. “This has increased passenger traffic, which we expect will rise further. At present, many students and those going to GIFT City are taking the metro,” he said. Officials add that traffic in the city seems to have saturated and could touch the 1.4 lakh per day mark by year-end.