Not fare hike, last-mile chaos pinches Metro riders in Delhi
Metro can take them from station A to station B. In Delhi, the time and money spent in getting to the station are often more than 50% of that spent on the actual Metro journey. Often, taking an auto or a shared ride in a cab is cheaper and more hassle-free.
In Delhi, the journey to and from a Metro station remains the biggest challenge. Feeder buses are still too few and their services limited. While many people walk to Metro stations, access points are not pedestrian friendly. Using private vehicles to get to the mass transit stations is not desirable. But at Metro stations in Delhi, more space is designated for car parks than for cycles and autorickshaws.
This ad hocism around last mile connectivity will only magnify the problems for Metro commuters once another 90 stations come up during 2017. Haphazard and unregulated parking outside these facilities are creating new choke points on Delhi’s already clogged roads.
If the Metro ridership does fall in Delhi, it would not be on account of merely a fare hike. It is up to the DMRC to resolve problems such as frequent breakdowns, delays and lack of feeder buses. Multiple agencies are responsible for removing encroachments, and regulating rickshaws, autos and e-rickshaws that form the bulk of the feeder network. The Metro needs to be complemented by an efficient bus service. But that is up to yet another agency.
Delhi’s public transport needs some operational integration, just like the British capital has Transport for London that manages the entire spectrum of public transport, including the tube, the buses, rails, trams, river services, inter-city coaches, taxis and cycles. London underwent radical overhauls of its Metro and bus networks simultaneously and increased its passenger base despite a 42% fare increase in eight years. It was only last year that Sadiq Khan, the present mayor, put a freeze on fare hikes till 2020.
With statehood remaining a sticky issue in Delhi, it is difficult to get multiple agencies to report to the same boss or have a common funding mechanism. But as pointed out in this column earlier, nothing stops the Centre and the state to agree on a working group of officials and experts for effective coordination.
The Metro has to provide a seamless and complete transit solution to stay the popular choice it has become in Delhi. Otherwise, forced to rely on private or hired vehicles to commute to and from Metro stations, Delhiites may well become wary of the city’s latest congestion points.