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The first metro rail in the city's north-south corridor has already received over 60 per cent of study-predicted daily ridership of 550,000 passengers by operating trains partially in the last two years thanks to its popularity and comfortable journey in the traffic-congested city.
According to Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), Mass Rapid Transit Line-6 (MRT-6) saw its highest-ever passenger count at 382,088 on Monday surpassing the previous record of 381,055 set on January 23.
"On an average, the MRT-6 receives 350,000 passengers under the current 8 to 10-minute headway," said Managing Director in charge of the state-owned company Mohammad Abdur Rouf while sharing his opinions with the members of Reporters for Rail and Road (RRR) at the company's conference room on Tuesday.
He discussed the company's activities and progress of the six MRTs planned under the Strategic Transport Plan and said the DMTCL now operates 206 trips daily and ticket sale was recorded at Tk 2.43 billion during the fiscal year 2023-24 from Tk 182.86 million in FY 2022-23.
Though the ticket sale increased to 13 times after operation of the MRT-6 along its entire 20.1- kilometre, the MD, however, could not specify the exact operational cost.
He mentioned that on average Tk 60 million is spent on electricity bill and Tk 60 million on manpower costs, which continues to rise with the increase of train operation and management for hiring skilled and semi-skilled people for DMTCL and through outsourcing.
He said the number of passengers will further increase once MRT-6 is extended towards Kamalapur Station and Tongi on the other side in the long run.
The DMTCL has already taken steps to reduce the headway or train's waiting time to six minutes during peak hours and eight minutes during off-peak hour by May following a recommendation from Adviser for Rail and Road Fouzul Kabir Khan who wrote a letter to the company recently.