Metro sources said that the introduction of feeder services for last-mile connectivity like share auto, share a taxi, MTC small buses, rental bike, and cycle and air-conditioned van services to IT corridors has helped increase patronage.
Deepak Venkatesan, an actor, says “As an aspiring actor there are so many classes I attend. I prefer crisscrossing the city on the metro. Using my luxury car takes too much time and fuel. The metro stations have great food joints and the company inside isn’t so bad either. Lots of young people and professionals are getting on board”.
“I prefer using the metro for multiple reasons. It saves a lot of travel time, money for petrol and brings peace of mind. You don’t have to worry about people driving mindlessly. I have a travel card. I generally end up reaching office with a fresh mind and sooner than when I used to travel by car. Plus I don’t get tanned”, says Sakshi Agarwal.
A recent release by the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) said the daily ridership reached more than a lakh over 21 days. On September 2, over 1.01 lakh people travelled while on September 13 the numbers raised to 1.19 lakh.
“Convenience is a very small word. It’s a blessing, reduces my travel time from 1.5 hrs to 9 mins. This means I can sleep more in the morning and yet reach work with ease and on time. Definitely it is cost-effective. I pay less than my petrol cost (one time cost) for 1.5 months of my travel by metro”, Priyanka Gupta, Test Engineer in an IT company.
Kavya Chandrasekharan, a student, explains, “The metro is probably my favourite mode of transport to commute within the city because of its convenience. The ticket vending machine is super easy to use. The metro also saves a lot of travel time as one can reach their destination quicker when compared to other means of transportation. Most people prefer the metro nowadays because they don’t have to face the peak hour traffic on the roads. And I personally like to take the metro because I believe carpooling or using public transportation reduces the amount of air & noise pollution”.
