Metro returns to pre-Covid levels sans e-pass

As the city metro returned to its pre-Covid norms allowing commuters to avail services without an e-pass, it brought major relief to the office goers on the first working day of the week. With no digital passes, additional number of services, the city’s lifeline transport system witnessed a pre-pandemic Monday after over 10 months.

It was the first Monday since the resumption of services in September when the metro operated without e-passes like it did in the pre-Covid times.

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However, even if the digital passes have been withdrawn, no tokens are being issued by the metro authorities as a precautionary measure. Since the resumption of commercial services in September, the digital passes became an important part of Kolkata Metro Railway in crowd management. With an all-time requirement to only morning and evening office hours, the e-passes had become an integral part of the metro commuters, particularly office-goers.

The withdrawal of the digital passes, has come as a great relief to the office goers.

“Before going to office every day, downloading the digital passes would always like a responsibility along with other duties,” said Sumit Das, employee of a private bank with branch near Maidan. “For morning hours it was still okay. In the evening hours, it would become like an additional responsibility to me,” he added.

Nilanjan Sengupta, a marketing executive working at a private insurance company near Minto Park, said, “Given my job, I would often have to rush to clients urgently and e-passes would become a hindrance then. In such situations, I had almost given up availing a metro for a faster commute and take cabs but that used to be very cost incurring. Now I am quiet relaxed to think that I can avail a metro at the swipe of my smart card.”