By IANS
New Delhi : As commuters in the capital continued to suffer due to the shortage of city buses, Delhi Metro grossed Rs.8.46 million revenue from tickets Monday, its highest since it started operations in December 2002.
"Delhi Metro recorded its highest gross revenue Monday with earnings of Rs.84.61 lakh (Rs.8.46 million). The Metro carried 724,000 commuters Monday, which is the second highest," Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) spokesman Anuj Dayal said.
DMRC calculates the passenger and revenue a day later.
Though Monday recorded second highest ridership, long distance commuters contributed to its record revenue earning.
On Monday, 224,000 commuters used Line 1 (Shahdara – Rithala), 220,000 used Line 2 (Central Secretariat – Vishwa Vidyalaya) and 279,000 used Line 3 (Indraprastha – Dwarka Sector 9).
The Metro also recorded the highest number of smart card (season pass) users on Monday at 281,000. On average 200,000 commuters use smart cards every day.
Monday's top 10 stations in terms of earning were Rajiv Chowk, Shahdara, Vishwa Vidyalaya, Chandni Chowk, Central Secretariat, New Delhi, Welcome, Uttam Nagar (East), Barahkhamba Road and Rohini (West).
Additional ticket counters were opened at 12 stations.
The highest ridership of the Metro was 736,000, recorded Saturday, though the gross revenue on that day was Rs.8.1 million.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of commuters suffered another agonising day in the capital Tuesday as a majority of the privately operated Blueline buses kept away from the roads waiting to be declared fit to ply.
About 1,000 Blueline buses, or a fourth of the fleet, operated Tuesday along with 2,800 buses of the state-run Delhi Transport Corp (DTC).