Bengaluru: Whitefield Metro sees higher ridership on weekends than weekdays

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 25 inaugurated the long-pending Whitefield- Krishnarajapura Metro section.

A week-long analysis of Whitefield Metro's ridership has revealed that patronage is higher on weekends than weekdays. It effectively means that office goers have not switched it out for their private vehicles yet in large numbers.

Whitefield Metro is Bengaluru's first tech corridor to be connected by Metro. The ridership pattern can be attributed to two reasons: One, fewer people, particularly office-goers outside East Bengaluru are presently using the Whitefield Metro due to poor connectivity. Two, the weekend rush could be due to joyriders or those who use Metro for weekend shopping.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) records show Whitefield Metro (13.7Km Whitefield-KR Pura) ’s average daily ridership was 23,771 between March 26 and April 1 .

On the first day of commercial operations on March 26 (Sunday), Whitefield Metro’s ridership was 27,379. Daily ridership on other days are as follows:  March 27 (Monday): 21,261, March 28 (Tuesday): 23,038, March 29 (Wednesday): 23,125, March 30 (Thursday): 21,968, March 31(Friday) 22,084. On April 1 (Saturday), it clocked a daily ridership of 27,544, which is the highest so far.

BMRCL chief public relations officer BL Yashwanth Chavan told Moneycontrol: "Overall average daily ridership has increased by 20,000 after the opening of Whitefield Metro section".

Experts say ridership will rise significantly only once the BMRCL connects the missing link: KR Pura- Byappanahalli section (2Km). At present, the Whitefield Metro section is a standalone line. Poor frequency and overcrowded feeder buses between KR Pura and Byappanahalli is major challenge for those staying in other parts of the city and traveling to work in Whitefield to use Metro.

No major rise in ridership on older lines

Data accessed by Moneycontrol revealed there is no substantial increase in the daily ridership on the older lines (Byappanahalli-Kengeri and Nagasandra- Silk Institute) even after the opening of the Whitefield section. For instance, Byappanahalli-Kengeri)'s average daily ridership during first week of March (before the opening of Whitefield Metro section) was 2,02,194 but it increased only to 2,07,691 (excluding Whitefield Metro ridership) in the last week of March (after the opening of Whitefield Metro section). This means an increase of daily ridership of around 5,500 on the Byappanahalli-Kengeri section.

Surprisingly, there is a slight reduction in the ridership of Green Line ( Nagasandra- Silk Institute)'s average daily ridership-  from 2,12,585 in March first week to 2,10,784 in March last week. This could also perhaps be attributed to work-from-home, rising Covid-19 cases and summer holidays. The frequency of trains on the Whitefield Metro section is only 12 minutes. This increases commute time which discourages office-goers.

Further, a Green Line Metro user traveling to Whitefield will have to shift to Purple Line at Majestic interchange station, alight at Byappanahalli, wait for a feeder bus and then board a Metro train from KR Pura to Whitefield. This lot of office-goers might prefer their private vehicles over a convoluted Metro-feeder bus-Metro route.

 Ridership may grow once missing link is connected

In 2017, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) awarded the civil work contract for the 15 km Byappanahalli-Whitefield stretch with a 27-month deadline. It was originally supposed to be completed in 2020 but it’s only now after multiple missed deadlines that a part of the section is finally ready.

Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) operates shuttle bus services between KR Pura and Byappanahalli but so far their poor frequency does no favours in drawing commuters.

B Shashidhar, a techie who travels between JP Nagar 5th phase residence in south Bengaluru and International Tech Park Bangalore (ITPB), Whitefield office (27Km), said it took him 2 hours and 15 minutes from his residence (in JP nagar) to his office (in Whitefield) by Metro. He prefers to drive to work through traffic instead of waiting and hopping in and out of trains and feeder buses. “Passengers are forced to use feeder buses because BMRCL has failed to complete the missing link between Byappanahalli and KR Pura. BMRCL should be made accountable and hire buses on contract basis and provide free service to commuters till the Byappanahalli - KR Pura section is operational," he said.

BMRCL officials said the missing link between KR Pura and Byappanahalli section is likely to be completed by July 2023. This will connect the existing Purple Line (Byappanahalli - Kengeri). BMRCL managing director Anjum Parwez had told Moneycontrol that they are expecting 4 lakh more daily passengers once the entire corridor is operational, taking the total daily ridership to around 9 lakh.

The KR Pura - Byappanahalli section was stalled due to the delay in obtaining permission from South Western Railway for the open web girder (OWG) launching over a railway track at Benniganahalli, near Byappanahalli.

At present, Namma Metro’s daily ridership hovers between 5.3 lakh-5.6 lakh. The KR Pura - Byappanahalli section was stalled due to the delay in obtaining permission from South Western Railway for the open web girder (OWG) launching over a railway track at Benniganahalli, near Byappanahalli. BMRCL has now completed the viaduct work and they are expected to commence track laying, signalling and traction work, trial runs and CMRS safety inspection before the start of the commercial operations.

Whitefield Metro fails rain test

The newly inaugurated KR Pura- Whitefield Metro section failed its first rain test on April 4. Water seepage has been reported at Metro stations including Pattandur Agrahara (ITPB) and Nallurhalli in the Whitefield-KR Puram section, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 25. At Nallurhalli Metro station, the ticketing area was flooded and passengers wading through went viral on social media. Buckets were also placed at Metro stations to collect rainwater.

Metro may decongest choked-roads

Bengaluru has more than 1 crore registered vehicles and the average speed during peak hours is less than 10kmph. At present, Bengaluru's public transport share is only 48%. Once Byappanahalli- KR Pura Metro section is connected, many residents are likely to shift to Metro.

Also, many East Bengaluru residents could be expected to shift to places like Kengeri where the real-estate prices/rentals are affordable. The Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) prepared by the state government envisages setting up a 317 km Metro rail network in Bengaluru by 2031.  An action plan prepared by the state government to make Karnataka a $1 trillion economy stated that Bengaluru residents may get Metro access within 1-2 km from their home/place of work by 2032.