Kochi Water Metro Ltd (KWML) will commission three more terminals soon, as part of expanding its network in Kochi backwaters.
Works on Water Metro terminals at Mattancherry, Willingdon Island and Kadamakkudi are in the final stage.
KWML CEO Sajan P John said the agency is planning to open Mattancherry terminal by Nov and the other two by Dec. Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) would deliver more boats in the coming months.
Water Metro services recorded the highest ever daily ridership of 13,261 on Sunday. The figure was 12,872 on Sept 16, which is the second highest daily ridership. Authorities are planning to expand the network against the backdrop of the rising demand.
They said the average daily ridership during Onam season was more than 10,000, indicating that the services are slowly becoming a hit among people, especially during vacation and tourist seasons. Average ridership during normal days was below 3,000.
“Frequency of Water Metro services on the High Court-Fort Kochi route was doubled during Onam days. Boats were operated every 15 minutes to meet the demand. Still, we were forced to operate additional services to avoid long queues of passengers in front of ticket counters during holidays,” said John.
It is learnt that KWML operated 202 trips on Sunday, including 40 additional trips on Fort Kochi-High Court route.