A streamlined system to ensure first and last-mile connectivity continues to evade Kochi metro, about five years after the mass rapid transport system (MRTS), which entailed a capital investment of over ₹5,100 crore, was commissioned.
This was hitherto attributed to the metro agency and the operators of buses and autorickshaws being on different pages on the issue during the past couple of years. Faced with steep fall in footfalls in metro trains in the wake of the pandemic, efforts to rope in the two key public transport segments, online taxi aggregator platforms and e-scooters, gained momentum during the second half of 2021.
After innumerable delays, caused in part by the pandemic, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) and Ernakulam Jilla Autorickshaw Drivers’ Cooperative Society (EJADCS), a collective comprising members of six autorickshaw driver unions, have joined hands to launch a fleet of 200 e-autos by mid-May, to operate feeder services from metro stations.
