Pune Metro Ridership Drops by 5 Lakh in November, Officials Cite Holiday Impact
Pune, 7th December 2024: Metro ridership in November saw a significant drop, falling by nearly 5 lakh passengers, from 48.1 lakh in October to 43 lakh. This decline has prompted officials to attribute the decrease to the Diwali holiday break and the subsequent closure of educational institutions for a couple of weeks, assuaging concerns about the overall popularity of the green transport system.
Maha Metro officials clarified that the drop was temporary, pointing out that there were multiple days in November when ridership on the Vanaz-Ramwadi and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)-Swargate routes was below 1 lakh. “A large number of daily commuters on the Metro are students, and during the first and second weeks of November, schools and colleges were either closed or operating at reduced capacity, which significantly impacted the ridership,” explained a Maha Metro official.
In response to claims of a declining trend in Metro usage, another official noted that ridership saw an uptick in the final week of November and the beginning of December. “The footfall began increasing again, and daily ridership has already surged to 1.4 lakh in the first five days of December, as schools, colleges, and offices resumed full operations,” the official said.
To further boost student ridership, Maha Metro introduced the “Vidyarthi” (student) card, offering discounted fares for students purchasing tickets through the card. Over 15,000 student cards have already been issued, according to Maha Metro.
Looking ahead, the officials remain optimistic. “We are targeting a daily ridership of 2 lakh passengers in the coming months,” said an official from Maha Metro.
However, regular commuters highlighted the importance of last-mile connectivity to improve daily footfall. “Metro authorities are making efforts to enhance connectivity, but much more needs to be done to make it more accessible,” one commuter emphasized.
