KMRL withdraws discount card to hit city students’ travel plans

Illustration: Sreejith R. Kumar

Kochi Metro Co., Ltd. (KMRL) has stopped many discount cards, including some available for students.

Since the subway was launched, it has brought a large number of schools and college students to their respective educational institutions every day for the past seven years. In the early days after its launch in June 2017, facing insufficient sponsorship, the Metro Agency announced a series of discount cards, and then thousands of students and others turned to the subway for daily commutes.

Since the Metro Agency decision started in February this year, many students have addressed the subway’s complaints about cells and officials.

A popular student discount card suddenly stopped with a reliable, efficient mode of transportation, which caused inconvenience for students because they had no choice but to rely on buses to get to the university. “This increases my travel costs and also causes delays, which sometimes makes us late for classes. In this case, subway agents should reintroduce discount cards for students, or provide similar student-friendly passes.”

The discount card has been a huge help to students, including those taking exams and special classes, he said.

“She now has two options – to pay Rs 80 to pay for the Metro to MG Road return trip or rely on the bus. In the Thripunithura Terminal at the eastern end of the corridor, there are students who once commuted to and from Metro, and now, they take more than 90 minutes to take the bus – far more than three uses,” he added. ”

He also noted that the withdrawal of the discount card came when New York City experienced severe traffic congestion, partly due to the subway’s Kakkanad delays ongoing work.

Echoing similar views, Kala MS, the dean of St. Teresa College (self-sufficiency stream) said it was frustrating to learn that KMRL made such a decision. “This will affect the student community. Subway agencies should explore alternative means to generate more income,” she added.

They acknowledge that unless three discount cards have been withdrawn, Metro sources said regular fares have not increased since the subway commissioned in 2017. The decision to withdraw the card in the context of efforts to obtain more revenue from capital-intensive projects.