43 per cent find Kochi Metro costly

Kochi: Kochi Metro's fares are not reasonable according to nearly half of passengers who responded to a survey by a city-based agency. While 43 percent of them felt they were high, 51 percent find them affordable for daily commuting, and 61 percent said they would continue to use Metro. De Valor Management Consultants (P) Ltd surveyed them during the first month of its operations. According to Sudheer Babu, its managing director, the results will help the metro operator to improve facilities and services at stations and on trains.

Lack of parking facilities at stations is the biggest problem they cite, and only 46 percent said they were good. But a vast majority of 82 percent riders said metro is the safest and most comfortable mode of transport for women. Despite complaints against poor connectivity with stations, 73 percent respondents said it was easy to access Metro stations. A majority of them (82 percent) feel that the customer care services are excellent while 75 percent find facilities easy to use. Nearly half of the Metro passengers (47 percent) are young in the age group of 18 to 25, while 31 percent of them are students and 21 percent employees of private firms.

While 18 percent of riders take out journey for official purpose, 39 percent are joyriders. Only 3 percent of daily wage labourers use the trains for commuting. Some of their suggestions are increasing feeder services, setting up suggestion boxes, waste bins, Wi-Fi facility, more chairs and drinking water at stations, security officers who speak Malayalam and women-only compartments. The survey report released by Hibi Eden MLA on Thursday will be submitted to KMRL managing director Elias George and DMRC principal advisor E. Sreedharan.