Metro wins over office-goers with speed & comforts





Commuters Say They Will Switch Permanently To New Ride In Town

The Mumbai Metro appears set to become one of the mainstays of the city's transporta

tion complex, a distinction that the suburban rail network has held for decades but the Monorail could not achieve.
An estimated 3 lakh commuters used the Metro on Monday , its second day of operation.
Among them were joyriders, but the bulk consisted of office-goers, many of whom, pleased by their comfortable commute, decided not to return to their old modes of transport.

an IT professional whose office is in Chakala. "Every day , I used to either take a bus or an auto from Vikhroli to Andheri. Now, I can go to Ghatkopar station, take the Metro and reach my destination in less than 15 minutes. This is amazing."

Similar delight was expressed by others. Vaibhav Yadav, a 25-year-old film editor who travels regularly from Ghatkopar to Andheri, said till last week he went to Dadar by train, crossed over to Western Railway and caught another crowded train for Andheri.
"The worst part was waiting at Andheri station for a bus to Lokhandwala Complex." On Monday , Yadav saved more than an hour as he reached D N

According to the Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd (MMOPL), about 2.2 lakh passengers used the Metro by 7pm on Monday . Extrapolating from the figure, the service operator estimated that the ridership at day's end is likely to be around 3 lakh. On Sunday , about 2.4 lakh passengers had tried the service, which, according to the MMOPL, was the highest first-day ridership of all metro projects in India.

An MMOPL official said, "Although many joyriders came on Monday , the bigger share was commuters who had switched over from road transport." He added that 40,000 smart cards were sold on Day 2, indicating that the Metro is already building a base of regular commuters. "The response is encouraging. We are confident of meeting our targets."

The system is designed to handle 7 lakh commuters a day .

Many passengers heaped rich praises on the comfort of Metro travel. "This is the best and fastest way to move between eastern and western suburbs," said Ajit Panigrahi,

Nagar in under 20 minutes and took an auto to Lokhandwala.
"This is the cheapest mode of travel. And given the city's sultry weather, the air-conditioned journey is a real boon for Mumbaikars," Yadav said.

Ravi Singh, who commutes daily from Andheri station to his office in J B Nagar, said he will now forsake his usual BEST route number 340. "The bus goes under the Metro and uses the same route from Andheri to Ghatkopar. Since the Metro is faster and cheaper, I will prefer that," he said.

Samrat Teli (33) described the Metro as "the smartest way to travel".
"It will be very popular among young officegoers. If you want to save time, this is the best alternative. Also, it is a pleasant experience to travel in these new coaches." Teli, who goes from Badlapur to Andheri for work, said the large stations, escalators and the staff left a positive impression on him.