Six months on, still no takers for Ggn's 2nd phase Rapid Metro

Gurugram: It has been over six months when the second phase of Rapid Metro was launched that finally led to the completion of over 11 kilometres covering busy areas of Golf Course road and Cyber City. Yet, after years of setting up the infrastructure and thousands of crores of investment, many residents still prefer to give local Metro service a miss due to various challenges that surrounds it.

Higher costs for travelling, less focus on last mile connectivity and lesser frequency of the movement of trains are resulting in many residents still relying on other modes of transportation.

Considered to be a bane for many residents who drive on routes of Golf Course, Sikanderpur, MG road and Cyber city, the diesel run autos and private city buses continue to retain its popularity.

While these transportation mediums still charge a reasonable sum from their customers, the ticket prices in rapid metro ranges from minimum sum of Rs 20 to maximum of Rs 35. Not only are the common citizens but even the office goers have lessened their daily travels.

"Being a private enterprise, there is focus in recovering the costs to reach the breakeven levels soon. As it is covering just 11 kilometres, it cannot be profitable by being a mass product and has therefore focussed on being a niche product by focussing more on office goers. However, even in this strategy they need to work on their business model," said Amandeep Singh, a resident.

Besides providing services for commuting, the other forms of revenue for rapid metro is through advertising on its trains and on certain occasions providing space for hosting functions in its coaches.

"The development of Rapid Metro is crucial in the public transportation scenario of Gurugram. At a time when the city is the leader in air pollution, we cannot allow this experiment to go bust. If required, the state government must also step in and ensure that prices can be reworked so that more can use the services," said Ankita Jain, one of the city residents.