Kochi Metro to observe Public Transport day on every Friday

Kochi, India (Urban Transport News): With the aims to promote uses of public transport and curb vehicular pollution in the city, the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has planned to observe Public Transport Day on every Friday of the week starting from January 3, 2020. The KMRL employees will be commuting by Public Transport. They will either use bicycle or other modes of public transport to commute their workplace/office every Friday during this year. 

This initiative will also encourage the public to use non-motorized or public transport at least once a week. The Kochi Metro official also urged the citizens of Kochi to make a habit to use public transport every Friday to decongest city roads, reduce pollution and develop a new travel culture in the city. “The decision has been taken in continuation of our aspirations to undertake initiatives that enhance the quality of life in the city.

Every citizen should use non-motorized or public transport at least a day every week. We thought that KMRL being a transit company the employees of KMRL should promote usage of public transport" said Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Managing Director, Kochi Metro Rail Limited. "Through the above initiative, we are making a paradigm shift in mobility good practices, thereby minimizing the environmental impacts as well as traffic congestions associated with the use of personal cars", he added. On the first day of 2020, Kochi Metro touched 1.25 lakhs riders, which is an all-time high on a commercial operational day.

Also, a total of 10,40,799 commuters used Kochi Metro during this Christmas and New year season. "The increase in ridership which we have witnessed during the festivities is unprecedented. People are relying on the metro for shopping and daily commute. This is a healthy sign." said Sharma. Earlier in 2018, a similar initiative was undertaken by the city-based Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) along with various public transportation stakeholders, including the Kochi Metro Rail Limited, private bus operators, autorickshaws, district administration, and the Corporation which were meant to promote the public transportation system in the district. They had decided to observe the first Friday of every month as the 'Public Transport Day' starting from May 4, 2018.