Tourist boat operators along Marine Drive are feeling the heat as many of their potential customers are opting for Kochi Water Metro ferries that began operating in the High Court-Vypeen corridor from Wednesday, for as low as ₹20 per person.
Vindicating this is the sight of serpentine queues at the Water Metro’s High Court terminal from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. as the newly launched air-conditioned electric-hybrid ferries operate trips every 15 minutes. “The rush for tickets to board the ferries was so much so that my family and I who arrived at the terminal at 3 p.m. on Sunday managed to get on board a ferry only at 6.20 p.m.,” said Jayesh Mathew, who runs a crew-training centre for international airlines.
Marine Drive Tourist Boats’ Association secretary Saju T.B. said the launch of Water Metro ferries had made a dent in the revenue of almost all boat operators, who had been witnessing an increase in footfall over the past couple of months due to the intense summer heat. “Many of our potential customers are now flocking to board the Water Metro ferries, mostly out of curiosity. Those who are keen to travel on the upper deck still prefer our vessels.”
He said the intense competition among tourist boat operators and the foray of Water Metro ferries had resulted in boats that operated up to the sea mouth in Fort Kochi slashing their rate from ₹200 to between ₹150 and ₹100 per person. “Yet another phenomenon is that unscrupulous boat operators are packing their vessels with more guests than permitted, to make a fast buck. The Cochin Port Authority, boat-registering authority [the Ports Department], Kerala Maritime Board, Greater Cochin Development authority [which owns the Marine Drive walkway] and Kerala Tourism ought to clamp down on this dangerous trend, and also the propping up of illegal ramshackle wooden jetties on the walkway, failing which there is a high chance of accidents. They must insist that the passenger capacity of each boat is displayed in bold, at the entry,” he said.
Kochi Water Metro sources attributed the massive demand for ferries from its High Court terminal to the summer vacation and the festival season.
