GHAZIABAD: Namo Bharat trains saw a footfall of around 20,000 passengers in just the first two days of operations – Saturday and Sunday – officials said, stressing that the focus will now shift to last-mile connectivity.The aim, they said, is to provide convenient transport to people from stations, mainly Sahibabad and Ghaziabad, to optimise ridership on the 17km priority section, the first of multiple segments of the Delhi-Meerut rapid rail corridor that will see a full commercial launch in 2025.The response to Namo Bharat has been unprecedented. Around 10,000 passengers are taking the rides daily. We want to keep up the momentum and integrate the stations with other modes of transport, said an official of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) NCRTC is the nodal agency managing the rapid rail project.So far, the corporation has tied up with service providers to ensure the availability of e-auto rickshaws near four of the five stations on the priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai.Two private agencies are providing e-auto service from Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar and Duhai station. At any time, two e-autos are stationed at the pick-up and drop areas of each Namo Bharat station, the NCRTC official said.E-autos make it easier to travel to the densely populated areas such as Raj Nagar Extension, Jagriti Vihar, and GDA colony. As fares are as low as Rs 10, some rural areas -- Bikanpur, Milak Chakarpur, Shahpur Nij Morta, Basantpur Senthali and Ataur Nagla are also within reach.The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) is also running an electric bus service between the Anand Vihar bus stand and Sahibabad station every 20 minutes. The first AC electric bus leaves from Anand Vihar ISBT at 6.20am while the last one leaves at 9.35pm, the official added.The Ghaziabad RTO, in consultation with NCRTC, had also chalked out 17 routes to start feeder buses in January this year, but no bidders have been found yet.Over 114 permits for the feeder bus service are up for grabs, but no party has shown interest so far. We will invite fresh bids and a meeting is also scheduled this month to discuss the issue, said PK Singh, RTO (administration).The maximum number of routes (9) has been proposed from the Sahibabad rapid rail station with a fleet of 56 buses. The paths include Loni-Mohan Nagar (12.2km), Loni-Shalimar Garden-Sahibabad Railway Station (10.2km), Hindon Civil Terminal-Mohan Nagar, Noida Sector 62 metro station-Aditya Mall-Indirapuram-Vasundhara, and Hindon Civil Terminal-Shalimar Garden-Sahibabad Railway Station.

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