Mall of Metro: Everyone's invited!

Commercial activities of all kinds thrive at Metro stations across the world and the Namma Metro is no exception. BMRCL has set its sights on equipping stations with amenities like supermarkets, restaurants and daycare centres. However, with inadequate parking facilities and no regular Metro feeders, commuting to and from the stations is still a hassle. If this is not addressed, BMRCL’s efforts will be in vain, reports Ranjani Madhavan

They may have been seen as monstrosities on your favourite road, blocking the sunlight and eating into precious traffic space when they first arrived in the city. But now the Namma Metro stations are all set to turn into your neighbourhood all-in-one facility. Soon you will be able to eat, shop, leave your child in day care and even pick up your laundry besides boarding the train at your nearest Namma Metro station.

While leasing of commercial space at the Trinity, MG Road and Baiyappanahalli stations on the Purple Line has already begun, it is likely to catch on at the soon-to-be-opened stations of the Green Line under Phase 1 as well.

"The commercial units at the Baiyappanahalli station are doing really well. More supermarkets have opened here recently  and we find a lot of commuters shopping for their groceries before boarding the trains. Soon Dominos Pizza will open at the MG Road station. The commercial outlets at the SV Road station are doing very well too," says Mr Vasanth Rao, Chief Public Relations Officer of Namma Metro, disclosing that once the Green Line is operational, the BMRCL will invite more bids for retail spaces at its stations as well.

The upcoming Metro stations, which will soon fulfill many a  shopper's needs, are Mantri Square, Vijayanagar, Srirampura, Kuvempu Road, Maha laxmi, Rajajinagar and Yeshwanthpur.

And  the commercial units you could see at these stations include  Yes Bank, Southern Travels agency, Karnataka Agro Chemicals and the eatery, Hatti Kaapi.

“We have a license fee, with a base price stated in the tender document. We perform a market survey in the area of the station, and check out its rental rates. Whoever quotes the highest, gets the space," explains Mr Vasanth Rao, revealing that in the next couple of days, tenders will be floated for retail outlets at the Mantri Mall Metro Station.

Interestingly, start-ups that have little initial funding have also found  modest space at the stations. At the Halasuru station commuters find a unique Do it Yourself kind of space called ‘The Work Bench Project.’

“Anyone with an idea can walk in here. It is a place for technology, start-ups, entrepreneurship and innovation. You can learn a new skill, do research to start a new hobby, develop an app or a game or learn about a machine,” explains Mr Pavan, who runs  the project with his wife, Anupama.

 The unit's website tells you anyone can learn to build a robot, a drone, get mentored to make a stop motion video, and so on at its outlet, which can also get you going on upcycling and recycling.

And then there are the incubation centres at the Trinity Metro station, where start- ups receive mentoring for their ideas.

It is a win-win situation for both the BMRCL and the retail outlets as with the Metro’s current ridership of 1.75 lakh, the footfalls are high, bringing business to the latter and demand for commercial space at the Metro stations. "On an average we earn non- fare revenue of Rs 40 crore to Rs 50 crore from commercial spaces each year. When the 40 stations are all operational, this figure could shoot up," says Mr Vasanth Rao.  

As for Metro commuters, not everyone seems excited about the eateries and shops at its stations. One commuter, Meghna, who takes the Metro from MG Road every day, however, finds them a huge convenience  "I travel to and from work by the Metro everyday and love the fact that there is a supermarket at the station now as I can buy my daily groceries without going out of my way," she says.

But to another commuter, Raj, they hardly make a difference."  I usually take the Metro from Magadi Road to Indiranagar on weekends. As I am going out for a drink and bite  with my friends, I don't really feel like stopping at the station," he shrugs dismissively.

Inconvenience is only temporary: Kharola
If Namma Metro is trying to seem people -friendly with the many retail outlets at its stations, it is hardly living up to this image in the vicinity of the stations that are still being built as the surrounding roads and footpaths are taking a beating , affecting  traffic  and pedestrians alike.

For instance, at Rajarajeshwari Nagar the  pillars for the Metro station  are occupying the middle of the road and the station itself is taking up a huge length of the area. The result? A locality that never suffered traffic jams in the past, is  now seeing one kilometer long gridlocks until the RR Nagar arch.

Ask MD of BMRCL, Pradeep Singh Kharola and he says that in the RR Nagar area, it is trying to ensure  two lanes of traffic on either side of the pillars for the convenience of commuters.”We are occupying a wider portion of the main road only to expedite the work. The inconvenience will  only be temporary," he promises.

Admitting that some amount of damage to the footpaths and roads was inevitable during construction of the Metro, he , however, assures that the BMRCL is working with the  BBMP to improve the footpaths once the work is done. “We are going to ensure better pavement quality for walkers. As for the roads, BMRCL always repairs any damage that takes place,” he insists. But in the meanwhile, people will have to have to put up with more poor roads and footpaths during the construction of the Phase 2 stations.

Mr Srinidhi, a member of the Praaja RAAG advocacy group, recalls that it was suggested a while ago that the roads and footpaths along the Metro route and elevated corridors should be redone by TenderSure standards.  “This means wider footpaths for pedestrians. While the BMRCL is working with tghe BBMP on this, it is unfortunately not going by TenderSure standards. Take the MG Road area for example. But it is very important to ensure accessibility to the Metro for walkers and cyclists too,” he adds.

The activist is, however, happy with the way the footpaths have been improved near the City Market Station by the  BMRCL in collaboration with DULT. "This is how it should be. BMRCL must stick to redoing the footpaths itself rather than asking the BBMP to do the job,” he says.

Guest column: BMRCL must cater to comfort of customers, says Narendra Kumar, Nagarika Shakti
While the BMRCL makes money,  it must also cater to people’s requirements. For instance a passenger  waiting for 10 minutes for a train, must be able to get a coffee and have access to a bathroom facility. The purpose is to improve service. We don’t want BMRCL to make a loss, but it cannot concentrate solely on profits either. It must look at how more people can be served and concentrate on the volume game. As in any business, the more customers you have, the more money you make. BMRCL is a public transport company and not a real estate business or  merely a profit- making entity.

But due to the exorbitant pricing at its stations, there is hardly any business. Vendors say the lease amount is too much.  The BMRCL has its tender process  where the highest bidder gets the space. But although it will get regular rent of say Rs 2000 from a high- end coffee outlet, it will serve only 10 people because of its high prices. So why not have a regular South Indian hotel, serving coffee for Rs 10  and  200 customers a day instead?  More people will frequent the joint, which means more business for it  and the Metro too. Commercialisation of public transport space should never be done for exclusive premium brands as the high pricing will lead to losses for the retail outlets.

Also, the BMRCL takes advances for a lease of three to five years, telling the vendors that the line will become operational soon. However, no one actually knows when this will be. And when the government changes, a new contractor could come into play and delay the opening of the green line. In the meanwhile, the vendor’s lease contract with the BMRCL itself could expire.

One must understand that the BMRCL is not into real estate, but is involved in the business of transferring people from point A to point B, and improving its services. While making money is important, the focus must be to get more people onto the Metro because that is the BMRCL’s bread and butter. This will require catering to the comfort of commuters through commercial establishments at the stations and providing better parking facilities.. Its services must strive to be commuter oriented, and aim to get more ridership.