Mumbai: MMRDA’s Mono Rail running on the Chembur-Wadala-Jacob Circle Track has been facing a shortage of passengers since its inception. Due to the lockdown in the Corona Pandemic, the loss of Mono has increased even more. In order to reduce the loss of mono rail, it has been decided by MMRDA to appoint a consultant to increase the income of non-fare revenue box.
According to an official, only 7000 people travel in 60 to 70 trips of Mono daily. Mono runs from 6.24 in the morning till 11.03 in the late night on a track of about 20 km from Chembur to Jacob Circle. A staff of more than 300 is engaged in the operation of Mono Rail. Initially, Larsen & Toubro, which manufactured the Monorail, and a Malaysian company were operating the Mono. The mono rail is being operated by the officials of the Transport and Communication Department of MMRDA since December 2018.
cost more, less income
Insufficient number of passengers on this route and high cost have been affecting its operation and maintenance. However, MMRDA is going to call for 10 new rakes by 2023. Efforts are on to attract more and more passengers. It was told that MMRDA has set a target of Rs 29.25 crore in 2021-22, but now it is difficult to increase income without non-fare revenue box. MMRDA now wants to get additional income in the form of non-fare revenue from mono stations like metro stations.
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Will spend 30 lakhs
For this, a consultant will be appointed by spending 30 lakh rupees. The consultant company will explore various avenues of NFB revenue along with increasing the passenger numbers in Mono.