Metro commuters have to pay lot due to poor integration of different systems: CSE

New Delhi: The environment think tank CSE clarified on Friday its recent study on falling ridership of the Delhi Metro was not only about the trip cost but also the total journey cost incurred by commuters, who because of poor integration of different systems end up paying a lot.

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in a recent study claimed after the fare hike last year, the Delhi Metro has become the second-most unaffordable service in the world among the cities that charge less than a US dollar for a trip. The report drew criticism by the DMRC and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who termed it as "misleading and falsifying facts".

The CSE clarified that while the Delhi Metro continues to play an important role in meeting commuting demand, the targeted improvement in share of public transport ridership will not happen on its own. Well thought-out fiscal and other policies for all systems will be needed. "The CSE study is not only about trip cost of the Delhi Metro, but about the total journey cost of commuters who, because of poor integration of different systems, poor connectivity and frequent interchanging of modes, end up paying a lot for commuting. Door-step connectivity is required," the CSE said in a statement Friday. It said if not addressed immediately, Delhi and other cities will continue to suffer losses in public transport ridership. People will keep shifting to two-wheelers and cars which is not acceptable in cities facing serious public health and liveability crisis.

In response to the DMRC's objections to this selection of the nine cities and suggestion to look at other cities with large metro networks, the CSE said it used the same UBS data to examine the percentage of income spent on rail-based systems in some of these cities. It has found that other cities with larger networks - even in developed countries - are still far more affordable than Delhi.

The other cities considered in the report were-Buenos Aires, Cairo, Hanoi, Jakarta, Kiev, Manila, Mexico City and Mumbai. "In Delhi, the percentage of income required to use the metro system stands at 14 percent. Compared to this, it is 2.9 percent in Hong Kong, 6.6 percent in Paris, 5.3 percent in Beijing, 5.2 percent in Seoul, 5.7 percent in Shanghai and 4.6 percent in New York. Even London is marginally better than Delhi with affordability of metro at 13.4 percent. Thus, the DMRC's argument about Delhi being more affordable than cities with large metro networks does not hold much ground," it said.