KOCHI: The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is set to leapfrog into a new phase from Monday in its current operations by increasing its frequency of operations while it is set to open another new chapter this month by launching the season ticket which will be known as 'trip ticket'. The frequency will be increased to seven minutes for a train from the current 8.5 minutes. This is to accommodate the rush of passengers in the wake of school reopening and the general increase in the overall use.
"The summer vacation was good for Kochi Metro with the average per day passenger traffic ranging between 35,000-58,000. In the prior months this was between 25,000-30,000 and in March this was even below. It seems fun ride is the prime attraction and most passengers alight and board from Edappally station and such crowd made most with the vacation," said a KMRL official.
The official said that KMRL plans to launch the trip ticket this month and the testing process for the same and integrating it with Kochi One Card, the smart card which is already in force for travel in Kochi Metro, are being undertaken.
"A total of 60 trips can be made using each card between two fixed destinations and if a person chooses to travel between different destinations, money will be deducted from the main balance. The price for the 'trip ticket' has not been fixed as yet. The backend software upadation for the system is being undertaken now," the official said. Stations like Companypady and Amabattukavu continue to get less passengers and the trend shows that Metro has more takers when it reaches the city stations. The extension of the service to Pettah is expected to make a big change in the fortune of the premier service.
