Metro One, the only metro running in the city between Versova and Ghatkopar has shut down its operations since the Covid-19 induced lockdown was imposed. Due to this the earnings generated has been completely affected and the Reliance run metro has incurred losses to the tune of around Rs 100 crore as the service remain shut for more than hundred days now.
On an average Metro One witnesses about 4.5 lakh ridership per day. Considering the average footfall, if the amount calculated at the minimum ticket fare price of Rs 20 then the company makes an earning of Rs 90 lakh daily. As metro operations remain suspended from March 22 till July 21 (122 days till today) the incurred losses comes to nearly Rs 109 crore.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is planning to take over the Metro One operations, for which it is seeking a consultant. This metro line is the first project based on the public-private partnership (PPP) model in India. The Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd has 69 per cent stake, while the MMRDA has a 26 per cent stake and the French company Veolia owns 5 per cent. According to an MMRDA official, the appointment of consultant will help to evaluate the cost, as the authority will have to buy the stakes from Reliance first.
On MMRDA's willingness to take over Metro One operations from the current private entity Mumbai Urban Planner and Transportation consultant Vivek Pai said, "It will be a good move from the perspective of commuters as the chances of increasing ticket fare won't be there, as the current operators were unable to increase the fares due to the court's restrictions. And unlike private operators, for any government agency running a public transport is not a profit making business. To recover the cost of running the metro, such govt run agencies (MMRDA) can get in form of subsidy from state government."
