LUCKNOW, July 9 -- Reaching a Metro station could soon become easier for commuters living away from Lucknow's Metro corridor. The Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) has begun a survey to roll out a dedicated feeder bus network that will connect residential colonies, markets, educational institutions and other key locations with Metro stations. The proposed service is aimed at addressing the first and last mile connectivity gap, considered one of the major reasons many commuters still prefer private vehicles or auto-rickshaws despite the availability of Metro services. It is hoped that the survey will identify routes within a 20-km area of Metro stations, following which a detailed operational plan will be prepared. According to the official letter, the survey is being carried out with support from the transport department to assess commuter demand, road conditions and existing public transport facilities. Factors such as road width, traffic movement, accessibility and the presence of residential colonies, hospitals, educational institutions and commercial centres are being studied before the routes are finalised. The survey report was to be presented this week but has been delayed, transport department officials said. The proposal envisages deploying around 20 air-conditioned CNG buses, each with a seating capacity of 10 to 20 passengers. Unlike regular city buses, these vehicles will function exclusively as feeder services, operating on short routes between neighbourhoods and Metro stations. The buses are expected to pick up passengers from designated localities and ferry them to the nearest Metro station. The preliminary survey proposes feeder connectivity from almost every station on the North-South Metro corridor, bringing several localities that currently lie outside convenient Metro access into the network. If the proposal is approved, commuters from Khurram Nagar, Kalyanpur, Tedhi Pulia, IIT and IIM are likely to get feeder buses to Munshipulia Metro station. Those living in Kamta, Chinhat and areas around Polytechnic could be connected to Indira Nagar station. Similarly, residents of Rajajipuram and Budheshwar may get feeder buses to Alambagh station, while people travelling from Aminabad, Yahiyaganj and Qaiserbagh could access the Metro through Charbagh station. The survey also proposes feeder routes linked to Badshahnagar, Bhootnath, IT College, Hazratganj, KD Singh Babu Stadium, Vishwavidyalaya and Transport Nagar stations, covering surrounding residential neighbourhoods, commercial centres and institutional areas. Officials said the routes are tentative and may be revised after the survey is completed. According to LMRC spokesperson, Panchanan Mishra, after the route approval, the bus operations will be handed over to private operators. The ongoing exercise will determine the viability of each proposed route and help prepare the final feeder bus network. Officials, however, said no timeline has been fixed yet for the launch of the feeder bus service, and it will depend on the completion of the survey and subsequent approvals....