Noida Metro sees highest single-day footfall post COVID-19 lockdown

Noida: The Noida-Greater Noida metro has achieved its highest single-day ridership of nearly 23,000 passengers post COVID-19 lockdown while the average daily ridership stood over 17,000, officials said on Thursday.

The Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) credited the rise in ridership to cleanliness measures and increased confidence of the people in the public transporter. “As a result, in the previous week i.e. from October 11 to October 17, the NMRC achieved a week-wise average daily ridership of 17,289. The NMRC also achieved its highest ridership of 22,996 passengers on a single day post lockdown on October 11,” NMRC Managing Director Ritu Maheshwari said.

She said after relaxation of partial curfew in Gautam Buddh Nagar, the NMRC had resumed train services from June 9 this year.

Initially, passenger ridership remained “very low” and week-wise average daily ridership of only 2,877 passengers could be achieved.

However, the NMRC has been taking necessary measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus and to ensure a safe journey of commuters, the officer said.

“All NMRC trains are fully sanitised after each trip. The stations, platform and other 'contact areas' like call buttons of lifts, AFC gates, handle belts of escalators and staircases, POS machines etc. Are sanitised at regular intervals,” Maheshwari said.

She said a passenger screening team is deployed at each station to check face masks, body temperature and hand sanitisation of commuters.

Signages and markings are provided in station area and inside trains for maintaining proper social distance amongst passengers, she added.

“Due to various measures taken by the NMRC, the confidence of commuters has been growing gradually,” Maheshwari said, adding passengers are advised to use the Noida Metro services “without any fear or inhibition”.