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The Rapid Metro in Gurugram has witnessed a spurt in ridership in the first seven months of this financial year with around 40,000 passengers opting for it daily while commuting. As per the data tabled by Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation (HMRTC) during its board meeting held last week, the Rapid Metro saw around 80 lakh passengers from April to October this year, while the number of passengers during the same period last year was over 59 lakh.
The revenue rose by 53.84 per cent this year as compared to last year.
The Rapid Metro is operated and maintained by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which took over in October 2019 from IL&FS-run Rapid Metro Gurugram Limited (RMGL) and Rapid Metro Gurugram South Limited (RMGSL). The Rapid Metro has an 11.6 km network from Cyber Hub to Sector 56 along the Golf Course Road. It has 11 stations on its route and connects with the Yellow Line of Delhi Metro at Sikanderpur.
As per the performance report of operations of the Rapid Metro, the details of which have been submitted by DMRC, the Rapid Metro’s fare revenue during the first seven months of this year was ₹14.37 crore, while for the same period last year, the fare income was ₹10.42 crore. The non-fare revenue, which came from retail tenders, telecom tenders and outdoor advertising, was ₹11.53 crore, while it was ₹5.85 crore during the same period last year.
The total income of the Rapid Metro this year was ₹26.26 crore, while the total expenditure was ₹28.60 crore, which led to a deficit of ₹2.34 crore. Last year during the same period, the income was ₹17.07 crore, while the expenditure was pegged at ₹24.58 crore.
As far as ridership is concerned, 2023 witnessed 80,13,765 passengers from April to October, while in 2022 saw 59,12,457 footfall during the same period.
This year, the month of August saw the highest number of passengers at 12, 21, 839, while the lowest ridership was witnessed in July at 9,89,548. Last year, the highest ridership was witnessed in September at 9,98, 344, while the least was seen in April at 6,97,702.
HT reached out to HMRTC officials, but they who did not respond to request for comment on Metro ridership and revenue.
Sarika Panda Bhatt, founder of Raahgiri Foundation and transport expert, said that the increase in ridership on Rapid Metro is a positive development and it shows a high demand for mass transport system in Gurugram. “The jump in ridership is also proportional to the spike in commuters to Cyber Hub, Golf Course Road and Golf Course Extension Road. The government must expand the Metro to Manesar and Old Gurugram to reduce congestion on roads. It must also increase buses for public transport in the city to reduce private vehicles on roads,” she said.
The report also observed that while the Rapid Metro had 68 sites for outdoor advertising, only 24 could be auctioned successfully. Out of these 11 were surrendered, while 13 are presently available for advertising.
The Rapid Metro has also given 21 sites to the state information department for advertising government schemes. “Marketing efforts, including shootings and birthday celebrations, are being done regularly at the Rapid Metro stations, which have been taken over by HMRTC from DMRC since September last year and a total revenue of ₹33.16 lakh have been earned from September 2022 to March 2023,” the report said.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation took over the operations of the Rapid Metro from Rapid Metro Rail Gurgaon Limited and Rapid Metro Rail Gurgaon South Limited after both these entities, promoted by IL&FS, expressed their inability to run the Metro due to low footfall and high expenditure.
A DMRC official said, “With enhanced mobility after Covid-19 pandemic, the ridership on the entire Metro network is gradually increasing. A lot of people travel between Gurugram and Delhi and the increase in ridership on the Rapid Metro indicates the same.”
The steepest rise in income was in 2022 during the same period as it stood at ₹17.7 crore, while it was ₹3.8 crore in 2021 during the same period.
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