Purple line' in place!

This is the moment a lot of us have been waiting for – to rise above traffic (literally) and to look for no innovative excuse because well, you’re late. With the East-West corridor thrown open to the public and trains chugging on the ‘Purple Line’ at full pace from Mysuru Road to Byappanahalli, city folk are excited to say the least. Why else would Namma Metro record one lakh passengers, mostly professionals, in a day’s service otherwise?

With the heart of the city and all its activities rapidly moving towards MG Road and Indiranagar, this has now become a boon for city youngsters who don’t have to bail on social commitments. “The purple line has been something I was waiting for.

Having promised my friends to meet them for dinner and changing plans last moment over traffic woes and unwillingness to drive such a distance on a weekend; this is a welcome change to a much eager Vijayanagar, and me in particular,” says 25-year-old Akshara Bharadwaj about the line that covers areas like Mysuru Road, Vijayanagar, Magadi Road, Majestic, City Railway Station, Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, MG Road, Halasuru, Trinity and Indiranagar. A filmmaker and performing artiste at The Structural School of Fine Arts, Akshara adds, “Connectivity is one of the most important aspects of a big metropolitan city. We see that in New York, London and Mumbai. I'm glad Bangalore is getting there. Thank you, Namma Metro. World cuisine and good food does not feel inaccessible anymore!”

The smart card seems to be another legit hit. Instead of standing in a never-ending queue for 15 minutes and rattling around for change to get tokens, you can now buy a smart card for '100 and recharge for up to '1,500, even getting a 15% discount on every ride. What more could we ask for? “It’s actually helping me save money. I used to spend '3,000 on my Tech Park bus pass in a month and now I’ll at least save a thousand bucks,” opines Rajashree Thimappa. “So far, I only have positive things to say about it – it has AC, it’s always on time, reaches the other end of the city in 35 minutes as opposed to two hours and they’ve also increased the frequency of trains during peak hours, moving it to one every 15 minutes!” says the excited software professional.

Although the trains are often crowded, everyone seems to mind their business and personal space. So far, instances like eve teasing and molestation that make women think twice and even fear to step into a BMTC bus, haven’t been reported. “The connectivity is so good that people are not bothered where they are standing and if men and women are together,” says Janvi Rajpopat, an events executive who travels from Hosahalli to Indiranagar, cutting travel time by at least an hour. This will probably go down as a big success story for namma city. So, tell us. Have you taken the Metro yet?