In what is sure to bring a smile on the face of Mumbaikars, the minimum fare for a ride on the country's first monorail in Mumbai will be Rs 5 and the maximum fare will be Rs 19.
The Maharashtra Government’s Urban Development (UD) department has issued the fare structure for the monorail line of Jacob Circle-Wadala-Chembur (JWC).
As per the fare notification, commuters will have to pay Rs 5 to travel for 0-3 km. whereas they will have to shell out Rs 19 for traveling more than 20 kms
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Earlier, it was expected that the ticket rates would be between Rs 9 to Rs 25. However, with the election years coming up, it seems that the state government has taken a call to keep the rates as low as possible.
Sources in MMRDA requesting anonymity told this newspaper that another reason for keeping the fares low was because earlier doubts had been raised over the success of Monorail.
A transport expert requesting anonymity added, “The phase 1 of monorail between Wadala and Chembur passes through very less populated area and so I personally don’t think that the Phase 1 will be successful. The phase 2 which will be passing between Jacob Circe and Wadala will receive good response. I personally feel that the main reason behind the less fare is because elections are approaching.”
The phase-1 of monorail between Wadala and Chembur is ready and is expected to be operational by December-January. The Phase-2 between Jacob Circle and Wadala is expected to be ready by December 2014.
There will be seven stations in Phase-I of the 9-km monorail corridor - Chembur, VN Purav Marg, Fertiliser Colony, Bharat Petroleum, Mysore Colony, Bhakti Park and Wadala Depot.u00a0
Advantages of monorail
Reduced traffic: Nearly 28,000 taxis and auto rickshaws and 25,000 private cars will be reduced.
Reduced travel time: MMRDA says the 40-minute commute will be reduced to 21 minutes
Less crowded: The capacity of the four cars is 8,000 to 12,000 per hour per direction (PHPD).
Reduced pollution: The monorail produces less noise and is eco-friendly.
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