With the daily loss of the Kochi metro continuing to hover at over ₹1 crore, over five years since the mass rapid transport system (MRTS) was commissioned, demand is rife that Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) get its act together to improve passenger patronage, besides augmenting alternative revenue options.
Over the years, there has been demand from commuters and public transport experts that the metro agency take proactive measures to increase revenue from fare and non-fare box (alternative revenue) collection to attain break-even status for the project whose phase-I cost is estimated at approximately ₹7,000 crore. The average daily patronage is yet to cross even the one lakh mark, with the average ridership figure for January being 80,000 despite the peak tourist season.
Being a highly capital-intensive project, KMRL and the State government should have rolled out a slew of measures during the past five years, including a sound public transportation feeder network from metro stations to wean commuters away from private vehicles, said K.J. Sohan, former Mayor and an avid votary of sustainable public transport. “The metro agency now has a tough job at hand since the defect liability period of many components has expired or are nearing expiry. Funds will thus have to be set apart for their upkeep, increasing the metro’s operational expenditure,” he added.
The expectation was that the MRTS would record over one lakh footfalls per day once the crucial Pettah-SN Junction extension was commissioned, whereby the metro called at Thripunithura. That this has not happened shows that something drastic has to be done to woo commuters, which would in turn reflect in the quantum of alternative revenue, said Vysakh J., a commuter.
Citing how there have been few takers for station-naming rights, whereby the respective firm/institution’s name will be mentioned alongside that of most metro stations for a sum, Ebenser Chullikat, an RTI activist who has been closely watching the operation of the metro, said even major players were shying away from it owing to the “unrealistically high” tariff for that mode of garnering alternative revenue. “Similarly, vast commercial spaces in most stations are lying unoccupied, while many who set up shops and kiosks are finding it tough to get returns. The metro agency must take a cue from metros which have tasked consultants with the job of mopping alternative revenue,” he added.
Meanwhile, KMRL sources said tenders had been floated for semi naming rights of stations and wrapping of trains with advertisements to augment alternative revenue. Preparations are on to pre-lease 70,000 sq ft commercial space at Vadakekotta and a similar 85,000 sq ft at Thripunithura. Similarly, talks are under way for the work-near-home concept at the Ernakulam South station, while a Memorandum of Understanding was signed and construction work awarded for built-to-suit option at the Cusat station for IIM-Kozhikode. They added that the metro agency was also in search of investors for the Bliss City project mooted in Kakkanad.
“Efforts are on to improve passenger patronage. The fare-box revenue in 2021-2022 was ₹30.78 crore, while it has doubled to ₹62.58 crore from April 2022 to January 2023. The non-fare-box revenue in 2021-2022 was ₹35.92 crore, while it was ₹36.74 crore from April 2022 to January 2023,” they said.
