Delhi Metro smart card users will now be able to use their cards to travel on Airport Express link as well.
In a bid to facilitate smooth transition between the Metro network and the high-speed Airport link, which connects the Centre of Delhi to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will go for a common card system said Delhi Metro Chief Mangu Singh.
The Airport Metro link incurs a loss of `4 crore per month due to its low ridership and DMRC’s priority is to improve the ridership on the corridor.
The move will benefit lakhs of smart card users of Delhi Metro network. “Modalities are to be worked out for the smart card users to be able to use their cards to travel on the Airport Express link. A common system has to be worked out for the collection of fares as the system used by the Airport Metro is different from the rest of the Metro network. Apart from this, the rates followed by the high-speed link are also different,” said Singh.
The new age transport system, Delhi Metro, records an average ridership of over 20 lakh passengers daily. A significant number of these are smart card users.
“About 69.75 per cent of Metro commuters use smart cards to travel. As per the figures, 17,000 cards are sold everyday and one crore smart cards are in circulation,” said a spokesperson of the DMRC.
According to Delhi Metro officials, the move will be part of the measures to augment the ridership on the Airport Express link. “At present, the corridor is recording ridership between 10,000 to 11,000 commuters daily,” added the spokesperson.
DMRC took over the operations of the Airport Express corridor from July 1 and is planning a slew of measures to improve the ridership on the corridor. The 23 km-corridor connects Dwarka Sector 21 to New Delhi, via Terminal 3 of the IGI Airport.