Pune: Metro Ridership Drops by 5 Lakh in November, Officials Attribute It to Diwali Break
Pune, December 08, 2024: Metro ridership in Pune experienced a sharp dip in November, declining from 48.1 lakh passengers in October to 43 lakh.
Maha Metro officials cited the Diwali holiday break and the temporary closure of schools and colleges during the first half of November as key reasons for the decline. On multiple days, ridership on the Vanaz-Ramwadi and PCMC-Swargate routes fell below 1 lakh.
“A significant proportion of our daily commuters are students, and the reduced operations in educational institutions during November heavily impacted footfall,” a Maha Metro official explained.
The situation showed improvement in the final week of November and the first week of December. Ridership surged to 1.4 lakh daily in the first five days of December as educational institutions and offices resumed normal schedules.
To attract more student commuters, Maha Metro introduced the “Vidyarthi” card, offering discounted fares. Over 15,000 student cards have been issued so far, and officials remain optimistic about achieving a daily ridership target of 2 lakh in the coming months.
Despite these measures, commuters highlighted the need for better last-mile connectivity to boost daily footfall. “Efforts are being made, but more is needed to enhance accessibility,” one commuter remarked.
