Smart card sales drop by 22% after fare hike
NEWDELHI: The months following the metro fare hike did not only see a dip in ridership but has reportedly resulted in a drop in smart card sales by nearly 22%.
In a latest reply to an RTI query, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) reportedly revealed that the sale of metro cards dropped from an average of 15,650 cards per day in 2016 in the months of July, August, September and October, to 12,250 in 2017 in the corresponding months.
A DMRC spokesperson attributed the dip in card sales to ‘saturation’ in the number of new metro consumers as new lines are yet to be commissioned.
The daily average of smart card sales in July, 2017 was 12,900 against 16,000 in the same month last year. Similarly, 12,400 cards were sold in August this year as against 16,500 during the month last year. In September and October this year number of cards sold were 11,700 and 12,000 respectively compared to 15,200 and 14,900 last year.
Calling it a “usual fluctuation” the Metro officials claimed that the marginal dip could be more because of new rules instead of the fare hike. “The drop could be because of the new rule of metro cards being made non-refundable that was implemented from April 1 this year,” an official said, adding that this deterred less frequent passengers to opt for tokens than cards as the minimum value of a smart card is ₹150.
Despite the dip in sales, the percentage of smart card users saw a slight increase during the same months in 2017 as compared to 2016. According to data, the percentage of smart card users was 69.04, 70.12, 71.90 and 69.94 in July, August, September and October 2016 respectively. In 2017, during the same months, the share of smart card users saw a slight increase 72.17, 72.47, 72.65 and 70.84. NEWDELHI: Delhi Police on Saturday arrested a man for allegedly raping his 15-year-old daughter repeatedly for the past one and a half years, in east Delhi’s Jagatpuri . The girl told her mother about it on Saturday after which she approached the police.
Police said the teenager told her mother how her father abused her whenever there was no one at the house. A case of rape and under sections of the Protection of Children from Against Sexual Offences Act against her father.