Weekend rush: Namma Metro ridership reaches new high

Namma Metro ridership reached yet another high of 4.58 lakh on Friday night, as people rushed to leave the city to reach home towns ahead of the Gauri Ganesha festival.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) said on Saturday that the number for Friday was higher than the previous record of 4.53 lakh August 14, when the flower show at Lalbagh and the weekend rush ahead of Independence Day boosted its ridership. Before that metro ridership had touched 4,52 lakh on April 5.

"We thank our commuters, who are our patrons in achieving these milestones and looking forward to serve them with pleasure," the corporation tweeted on Saturday.

The general public, while congratulating the officials, stressed the need for additional coaches to reduce the rush on Green Line.

One Twitter user was very curt in conveying the rush inside the metro trains. "It means people suffered and travelled," Raghuraman LN said.

There were suggestions for improvement in services. "BMRCL can serve people better by increasing frequency, six coach trains on Green Line and reducing fare for first three stations from ₹5 to 10. Today it is not attractive to take metro for short distances. Metro station & BMTC at Banashankari needs a connection pedestrian bridge," Anand Gundurao replied.

Other members of twitterati questioned why the Twitter handle was used only to share positive news and did not respond to public grievances.