Kochi Water Metro considering hop on-hop off trips for tourists

Kochi Water Metro: 18.36 lakh commuters, 13 electric-hybrid ferries, improved infrastructure, plans for hop-on hop-off services.

A total of 18.36 lakh commuters travelled in Kochi Water Metro ferries, 11 months since the commissioning of the project on April 25 with nine ferries.

As many as 13 electric-hybrid ferries now operate on five routes. Next in line would be the commencement of the much-awaited service in the High Court-Fort Kochi corridor, prior to which Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) had improved the walkway on the Fort Kochi beachfront and also installed ample number of lights on it, says a release issued by the metro agency.

Efforts are on to usher in first- and last-mile connectivity from various ferry terminals. Local bodies must play their part to attract tourists by readying infrastructure for activities such as angling and other entertainment modes. Talks will be held with local bodies for launching hop-on hop-off boat services to the islands. Dedicated trips will be organised, if needed, to ferry tourists, KWML said.

The project that was envisaged to have 23 ferries in its phase one has come to be known across the country as a sustainable mode of commute as can be gauged from enquiries pouring in from various States. Being a unique project in the country, the number of tourists checking out the ferries is often more than the number of commuters. KWML will give renewed emphasis to attracting people from the islands to the ferries.

Regular commuters can avail different passes and travel for as low as ₹10, although the fare structure is in the ₹20 to ₹40 price range. A Water Metro ferry commuter can travel in the South Chitoor-High Court Junction corridor by paying ₹10, while the bus fare is ₹18. Weekly, monthly and quarterly passes are available for ₹180, ₹600, and ₹1,500 respectively, using which commuters can make 12, 50 and 150 trips.

There are constraints in operating more trips from the High Court terminal to locales like South Chitoor, Eloor, and Cheranalloor owing to limited number of ferries that are at present available with KWML. It is hoped that the Cochin Shipyard would deliver the rest of the 10 ferries in a time-bound manner, so that they could be deployed to newer routes where terminals are ready, including Fort Kochi.