Bengaluru: Namma Metro suffers 10 crore loss every month as ridership drops

Bengaluru: The financial position of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) which operates Namma Metro in the city has suffered a massive blow due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The reason for this is the drastic drop in the number of passengers commuting by Namma Metro since the outbreak of Covid. The average monthly ridership has come down to 80-90 lakh a month from1.20 crore a month before the pandemic struck. Currently, the average loss BMRCL suffers per month is over Rs 10 crore.

Before the pandemic, there was a time when more than 4 lakh people travelled every day on the 48-km Metro stretch. Even though the metro network has been expanded to 56.01 km this year, there has been no increase in passenger numbers. In December 2019, 1.24 crore people travelled on Metro trains, generating a revenue of Rs 33.39 crore for the BMRCL. In February 2020, the company posted a revenue of Rs 33.54 crore from 1.18 crore passengers. On March 25, 2020, the first lockdown was imposed across the country in the wake of Covid. Subsequently, the number of Metro commuters has decreased.

Although Namma Metro is showing signs of recovery, it is not getting as much revenue as it used during the pre-Covid days. In November 2021, only 81.51 lakh people took Metro ride, generating a revenue of Rs 20.41 crore. In December, 96.50 lakh people travelled on Metro rail and BMRCL generated Rs 23.12 crore revenue. Not only the revenue from passenger ridership, but also from parking fees has significantly declined.

The State and Central governments have jointly built the 'Namma Metro' project and funds have been raised through domestic and foreign financial institutions. According to an official, the current revenue barely meets the salaries of the BMRCL employees and the bank interest. The delay in land acquisition and court disputes are adversely affecting Namma Metro revenue.

Reasons for poor ridership

Even after the Covid-induced lockdown was lifted, many companies continued the work from home option for its employees, resulting in a significant drop in Metro ridership.

High fares are said to be another reason for most people preferring other modes transport though Metro is faster and comfortable as one can avoid ubiquitous traffic jams, pollution and bad roads.

Park fee at the stations is also one of the reasons for people staying away from Metro trains. Those who come on two-wheelers have to park their vehicle at Metro stations and take trains. They have to pay for fair as well as parking Thus, parking fees also have to be paid apart from metro ticket fare.