Hyderabad: With 2.8 lakh paid passengers and 2.95 lakh footfalls, on June 7, saw a new record in Hyderabad metro commuter numbers.
Keeping aside the interchange station Ameerpet (19,000), Hitec City has been consistently coming first (18,000), followed by LB Nagar (16,000), Miyapur (14,000) & KPHB (13,000). These stations are daily witnessing about 30,000 to 40,000 footfalls. Passenger numbers are steadily climbing up with an average increase of about 5,000 per week, especially with gradual introduction/ increase of shuttle services from different metro stations. During week days the average is 2.65 lakh commuters and weekends, about 2.10 lakh as of now. Travel with smart card is now equal to travel by tickets (139,000 each), which is again an indication of increase in regular/loyal commuters/customers.
Incidentally, Ameerpet is also attracting huge footfalls (over 1 lakh daily), as many are coming for shopping, dining in the restaurants etc., and their count is not captured in this data as many shops and restaurants are in “unpaid” area of the station. Same is the case with Miyapur, LB Nagar and a few other stations. As I used to tell during the metro construction days, metro stations are now slowly becoming hubs of activities and hang out places in the city. Much more is in the offing.
[source_without_link]INN[/source_without_link]