Mir Akram, employed at the Bangladesh Secretariat, would endure a lengthy commute of two to three hours from his residence in Shewrapara to reach his office.
However, with the beginning of the metro rail, his travel time has been dramatically slashed to a mere 20 minutes.
Ibrahim Kholil, working at a private bank in Motijheel and residing in Mirpur 12, previously spent close to three hours commuting from Mirpur 12 to Motijheel. His travel time has now been streamlined to a mere 25 minutes.
Rawnak Hassan, a student at Mirpur Cantonment Public School and College, experiences the fulfillment of a dream as his journey to school now takes less than half an hour.
The initiation of metro rail operations from Uttara to Motijheel has had a profound impact, significantly alleviating the travel woes of individuals of all age groups. This service has also ensured punctuality, offering a timely schedule for everyone. As a result, working capability has increased and relief has come to daily life.
Not only this, the first of its kind transportation in the city has also become one of the safest means of transport during the ongoing blockades.
Metrorail operation from Uttara to Motijheel started from November 5. After that, out of eight days, five days witnessed blockade. Metrorail has come as a boon where access to public transport is difficult due to the ongoing blockade programme, said a daily commuter to this journalist.
After the launch of metro rail from Uttara to Motijheel, about 1 lakh passengers are travelling daily. On holidays, which increases from 1 lakh to 1.20 lakh. However, the Metrorail authority said that it is not possible to say how much money has been earned so far without an audit.
Managing Director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) MAN Siddique confirming the number of daily passengers said that the number of passengers is more on holidays. An average of 1 lakh to 1.20 lakh passengers use the metro on Friday and Saturday.
Getting the cost effective and short time travel experience, people keep demanding to extend the operating hours of metro rail. In the face of widespread demand, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) has extended the operating hours from Motijheel to Uttara on Sunday.
As per the latest notice, from Saturday to Thursday, Metrorail will run every 10 minutes from Uttara North Station to Motijheel Station from 7:10 am to 11:30 pm.
According to the special note, two trains will depart from Uttara North station for Motijheel at 7:10 am and 7:20 am. The two metro trains will stop at all the stations that are currently operational. Both trains can be traveled using the MRT or Rapid Pass.
Thereafter, four additional Metro Rails will depart from Motijheel station at 11:40 AM, 11:50 AM, 12:00 PM and 12:12 PM and continue to Uttara North Station stopping at Secretariat, Farmgate and each following station.
However, only MRT/Rapid Pass users can board these four metro trains. Single journey tickets purchased before 11.30 am on the day of travel can travel on these trains. Single journey tickets cannot be purchased from these three stations after 11:30 am.
Initially, the metrorail is running on the Uttara-Motijheel section for four hours every day from 7:30 am to 11:30 pm and in the Uttara-Agargaon section it is running till 8:30 pm. Metro rail is available every 10 minutes during the operating hour.