Ridership on the Airport Express Metro Line (AEML) has once again shown an upward trend. Thanks to the second fare reduction in just two months, the high-speed corridor has witnessed a 28.5 per cent spike in ridership.
In fact, such has been the turnaround that the line has witnessed an increase of 196.5 per cent ever since the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) took it over in 2013.
The DMRC, on September 18, had slashed fares on the AEML by up to 50 per cent bringing the minimum single-journey fare on the line to Rs 10 from Rs 20.
“Within just a month of the fare reduction, average ridership on the airport line had increased by 28.5 per cent. From having an average ridership of 23,231 for the quarter of June to August, the number has increased to 29,862 for the month of October alone. It’s good that more people are using the line not just to reach the airport, but also for daily commute,” said a metro official.
If October’s ridership is compared to that of the same month of last year (17,155) then the surge is as much as 74 per cent.
However, the corporation is also facing the brunt for reducing the fare as it continues to suffer a loss on the line.
“The loss of earning, especially in the first 15 days since the new rates were implemented has been around 28-30 per cent. But, that is expected and with time it will be recovered,” said officials. The operating ratio of the line, which means the total working expenses to earning, of the metro corridor has come down from 2.7 to 1.08 despite a total 66.6 per cent slash in fares.
While primarily attributing it to the fare revision, officials said that the move of smart card inter-portability between the Airport Express Line and other corridors, and increasing frequency of trains have contributed in driving up ridership.
“Apart from the fares, the timings of the first service of the day was rescheduled from 5.30 a.m. to 4.45 a.m. from New Delhi and Dwarka Sector 21 to connect with trains of the Indian Railways. Total daily train trips on the corridor have also been increased to 168 from 148 — upping the frequency on the corridor from 15 minutes to 10 minutes and 30 seconds during peak hours,” added the official.
Records of the Delhi metro also indicated that immediately after the fares were cut, the ridership went up by 22.5 per cent. “For the period June 1 to September 17, average ridership of Airport Express Line was 23,644. On September 18 rates were reduced. So, from September 18 to October 31, the ridership was recorded at 28,970,” added the official.
DMRC took over operations of the Airport link, also known as Orange Line, in July 2013 after Reliance Infrastructure’s subsidiary Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Ltd (DAMEPL) terminated its concessionaire agreement.
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