Making metro profitable
Every now and then I keep reading the news that Hyderabad Metro is losing money and I'm always like they paid no? Apparently that is not enough.
If Metro security ever asked me 'Business or pleasure?' I'd reply 'Pleasure, sir'. Because what else do you call gliding from Miyapur to Malakpet in a clean, air-conditioned coach, skipping Ameerpet, Punjagutta, and Lakdikapul — without hearing a single honk or smelling anything fried?
I paid just Rs45. No traffic, no road rage, no two-wheeler cutting me off like it's a video game. For all this, I feel like I should've paid Rs200. But sadly, the QR code on the ticket doesn't accept tips.
Since I can't tip the Metro, I thought I'd offer it some tips instead — on how to make money.
'A developed country is not where the poor have cars, but where the rich use public transport'. Let's start here: make one luxury Metro coach — something that feels like a Park Hyatt on rails. Leather seats, warm lighting, a lounge, maybe even a quiet zone for Zoom calls. A proper 'premium' coach that the rich can use when they want to skip traffic but not comfort. Why would someone with a BMW take the Metro, you ask? Simple. A BMW can't move at 7 pm on Road No 36. And if someone is high, it's a lot safer to say 'one more ticket' than 'one more round'.
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