Metro makes Rs 175 crore since launch of Phase 1

The launch of the entire phase 1 has boosted the earnings of Namma Metro with the revenue from fares reaching Rs 175 crore between June and December, a huge jump considering that BMRCL earned Rs 110 crore for the entire financial year of 2016-17.

The numbers show that the monthly revenue of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) hovers around Rs 26 crore. The phase 1 was thrown open for public on June 18, a day after its inauguration by then president Pranab Mukherjee.

The revenue for the month crossed Rs 18 crore, most of which were collected in the second half. The following months have seen a steady growth with October and November recording Rs 27 crore, an addition of Rs 1 crore to the box compared to the previous months.

"The launch of Phase 1 has reduced our losses. We are on the way to profit. Within a year, we hope that the BMRCL will become a self-sustaining corporation that would not have to depend on the help from the state government," BMRCL public relations officer U A Vasanth Rao said.

Cash high

Though the BMRCL has offered 15% discount on fares paid through the Metro smart card, nearly 90% of the Rs 174.6 crore has come as cash with only Rs 18.13 crore non-cash revenue.

According to the information provided in the annual report 2015-16, the BMRCL registered Rs 44.97 crore revenue, which included a non-fare revenue (through advertisements etc). The fare revenue was Rs 28.28 crore.

The opening of the entire East-West (Purple) line in April 2016 further boosted the growth, when the total revenue went up to Rs 130.28 crore.

The unaudited financial results recently uploaded on the BMRCL website shows that the corporation earned Rs 115.48 crore between March and September 2017.

Kempegowda station busiest

The daily ridership of the Namma Metro has stayed above 3 lakh, but has failed to breach the 4 lakh barrier. October 23 saw the highest number of people taking the metro with the numbers crossing 3.7 lakh.

The Metro officials had expected the ridership to cross 5 lakh within two or three months after the launch of phase 1. An official said they expect a significant improvement from mid-2018 when most of the trains will have six cars.

With more than 30,000 riders every day, Kempegowda Metro Station is the busiest while Goraguntepalya has recorded less than a thousand passengers on several days.

Byappanahalli (20,000), Mantri Square (18,500) MG Road (17,000), Mysuru Road (11,000) and Yelachenahalli (13,000) are some of the busiest stations.