Delhi Metro lost 3 lakh riders a day after fare hike: RTI data

Delhi Metro saw a significant fall of ridership from 27.4 lakh in September to 24.2 lakh in October

Image: PTI/ File

New Delhi: RTI query has revealed that Delhi metro lost over three lakh commuters a day after the recent fare hike. On October 10, DMRC had increased the price, leading to a rise of around Rs 10 for nearly every distance slab. This came barely five months of another hike of up to 100 percent. The daily average ridership came down to 24.2 lakh in October from 27.4 lakh in September. This amounts to a downfall of around 11 percent. As per the data shared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, the Blue Line, which is the busiest route, lost over 30 lakh commuters. In another busy corridor which connects Gurgaon to Delhi's Samaypur Badli, the fall was of over 19 lakh on the Yellow Line. Ridership on the Violet Line, which connects ITO to Faridabad, plunged by 11.9 lakh in October. The number of riders for Dilshad Garden to Rithala line came down by 7.5 lakh. Surprisingly, in October 2016, the metro's daily average ridership was also 27.2 lakh, despite its shorter operational route. It is to be noted that after the first phase of the hike in May, the metro lost nearly 1.5 lakh passengers per day in June. The revised fare structure is: up to 2 km -- Rs 10, 2 to 5 km -- Rs 20, 5 to 12 km -- Rs 30, 12 to 21 km -- Rs 40, 21 to 32 km -- Rs 50 and for journeys beyond 32 km -- Rs 60 The metro network currently has a network 218-km across Delhi-NCR.