The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has recorded a ridership of 61,179 on the purple line’s Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield stretch on the day one of its operation. According to the corporation, the average ridership on that route had been 28,000 since its inauguration in March 2023. Namma Metro reported an uptick in its ridership with metro trains ferrying 6,80,894 passengers on October 9. For context, the metro’s average daily ridership is 6.5 lakh.
Metro services on the Challaghatta-Whitefield corridor commenced operations on October 9, significantly reducing travel time and costs. The metro journey from Challaghatta to Whitefield now takes around 1 hour and 20 minutes, priced at Rs 60, compared to a road commute that typically exceeds two hours of travel time. This extension expands the Bengaluru metro's Purple Line network from Whitefield in the east to Challaghatta in the west, covering a total distance of 42.85 km.
The KR Pura to Whitefield section opened in March 2023 but was disconnected from the rest of the Purple Line. The disconnect was owing to the installation of an Open Web Girder (OWG) on the Baiyappanahalli to KR Pura segment.
The delay in completing this vital link was primarily due to obtaining the necessary permissions, installing the OWG, and conducting subsequent safety checks. As a result of this missing link between Baiyappanahalli and KR Pura, metro users were compelled to rely on feeder buses or alternative transportation options which led to decreased ridership.